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Book lI, E5E BX 

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or 

CONGREtS, 
T>mo ComtB RtetfvcD 

AUG. 14 1902 

CoPVWMHT Eirruv 

Ma^4: 

DI.ASS Mo. 

t3 2. 2- ^ 

CORY B. 


Copyright, 1902, 

By Dodd, Mead and Company. 


FIRST EDITION PUBLISHED 
€ri AUGUST^ j()02 


THE CAXTON PRESS 
NEW YORK. 


THE BLOOD-TAX 


CHAPTEE I. 

All the available forces of Great Britain, the Eu- 
ropean, the Indian, the Egyptian brigades, the auxil- 
iary Colonial troops have, amid the war-like bellowing 
of public opinion, been drawn together on the scene of 
the conflict; and no Englishman notices, or wants to 
notice, that, in order to reach this end, the Lion has 
had to strain its last muscle, — to pump out its last 
drop of blood. Henceforward no one will tremble 
when the impotent monster lifts its clawless paws, or 
bares its shaky teeth 

With an impatient movement James Millar tossed 
aside the German paper with which he had been at- 
tempting to beguile the tedium of a long railway jour- 
ney, and turned to stare moodily out of the window. 

Flat fields and straight roads, interspersed with 
villages that looked as neat as though they had been 
recently unpacked out of a magnified toy box, were 
scudding past at the rate of seventy miles an hour. 
The coating of snow, thin almost as a coating of fresh 
paint, spread evenly over the landscape, enhanced the 
impression of monotony and tidiness. Tidy also 


2 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


appeared the rare figures of which passing glimpses 
could be caught — broad-shouldered, lumbering-look- 
ing workmen occupied here and there on some piece 
of winter work; or big, buxom women standing in 
their doorways to gape after the express — ^tidy, and 
not much more lively than the symmetrical fields 
among which they lived. Once, when slowing before a 
larger station, the train, skirting a vast enclosed piece 
of ground, gave its passengers the opportunity of 
observing several companies of infantry, in the smart 
German uniform, diligently wheeling about to words 
of command so ringing and so close that they rose 
above the rattle of the wheels. It was at this junc- 
ture that the face of James Millar lost its moodiness 
and changed to an eager interest. Eising hastily, he 
moved to the window, and strained his eyes towards 
the uniforms for so long as they remained visible. 
Then, with a sigh, he sat down again. 

You are admiring our beautiful infantry, are you 
not ? asked a German fellow traveller, with whom he 
had exchanged a few desultory remarks earlier in the 
day, and speaking in a tone that was unmistakably 
one of proud possession. Tell me truly : have you 
ever seen anything like them 

have seen better than them,^^ replied Millar, 
whose German, though decidedly British in accent, 
was fluent. It is not their quality that impresses 
jne at all.^^ 

What then?^^ 

Their quantity,^^ said Millar, a little reluctantly. 

You are an English officer, I presume 

Be sure that if I was I should not be here now. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


3 


Unfortunately I only represent what you call the 
^shop-keeping’ element of my nation; but that does 
not mean that I care only for shop-keeping.” 

commis-voyageurf^ thought the fat, inquisitive 
German. Yet his manners are almost too good for 
that.”) 

And you are journeying in the interests of your 
business, no doubt ?” 

am not journeying; I am only getting to my 
destination, which is Mannstadt, if you care to know.” 

Ah ! and your residence will be for long ?” 

The engagement I have received is for one year.” 
^^Ah!” 

Although burning for more precise information the 
German contented himself with observing: — 

^^You will be very busy during this year, I sup- 
pose.” 

Yes, very busy — and not with my business alone.” 

He was looking out of the window again, and the 
tone sufficed to tell even this thick-skinned fellow- 
traveller that the conversation was for the present 
closed. As his eyes returned to the landscape his 
thoughts slipped back into the groove out of which 
the sight of the. infantry had jerked them. It was a 
groove which was becoming habitual to this not quite 
typical shopkeeper.” 

This was by no means James Millar’s first acquaint- 
ance with the Continent. Owing to certain business 
operations of his father’s, a considerable portion of his 
childhood had been passed in Germany; and, as 
chance would have it, next door to a barrack-yard in 
a large, garrison town. Small wonder that he had 


4 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


carried back to his English home vague, but not the 
less brilliant, visions of blazing uniforms, of flashing 
swords, of endless columns of close ranks, with the 
voice of the trumpets and the roll of the drums ever 
in his ears — the deep, indelible impression of a nation 
standing under arms. It was an impression which 
from the imagination of the child passed over into 
that of the man, to lie latent, until circumstances 
called it back to full life. Yet during all these years 
he had never quite ceased to be haunted by the idea 
that his own country was staying behind in the uni- 
versal military race; nor, although family reasons 
pressed him into his father’s career, did he ever quite 
lose the feeling of being a soldier manque. Good 
business-man though he had become, a little of the 
military glamour which had dazzled his childhood 
still floated before his maturer eyes, causing him to 
follow even the faintest movement in army reform 
with almost as keen an interest as every improvement 
in his own especial branch of trade, and forcing him 
often, with considerable searchings of heart, to put to 
himself the question : Can we go on as we are 

going? Will we not have to do as the others do?’^ 

The events of October, 1899, having transferred 
this chronic anxiety into an acute one, his first im- 
pulse had been to volunteer for South Africa, but the 
necessary qualifications for a commission not being 
forthcoming, the alternative would have been the rank 
of a private, and from this, despite his robust patriot- 
ism, he shrank, chilled perhaps by certain dim yet 
drastic memories of the German barrack-yard, with 
whose doings he had once been so familiar. The ques- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


6 


tion as to whether enthusiasm or reluctance would 
prevail, was still hanging in the balance, when a 
timely accident decided the question. A German 
bicycle manufacturer, wishing to arrange his business 
upon strictly English methods, offered him the direc- 
tion of the manufactory for a year. Having taken 
twenty-four hours to consider, Millar closed with the 
ojffer. The terms were brilliant, but it was not these 
which had enticed him, it was the opportunity thus 
imexpectedly presented. For months past, that is, 
since the initial reverses to English arms, he had been 
coming to a reluctant conclusion with himself. Quite 
in the bottom of his heart that standing question: 

Will we not have to do as the others do — ^had long 
been answered with ^^Yes,^^ — ^but it was only now 
that he dared to acknowledge it even in his own mind. 
But the voice to bring about the great revolution, 
where was it? If it should prove impossible to con- 
vert to the cause another, more powerful, might it 
not be his own, since eloquence must surely come to 
him to whom conviction has already come ? 

But besides eloquence and conviction, knowledge 
was necessary, and where could that be better gath- 
ered than in the country which is par excellence the 
military country? A yearns residence in Germany, if 
properly employed, could not fail to give him the 
necessary insight into the organisation, the system, 
the general working of the most efficient army in Eu- 
rope. Mountains of proof could in that time be col- 
lected of the moral and physical benefits procured 
to the nation by the sacrifice of such a very small 
piece of personal independence. Armed with these 


6 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


he would return, would, with patience, perseverance, 
and money, find a road into Parliament. And, hav-: 
ing thus gained the ear of the nation, would assail it 
with so many unanswerable arguments that even* 
British stiff-neckedness would have to bend before the 
irresistible necessity of the Blood-Tax.” 

Such, in general lines, was the programme which 
James Millar, in the sanguine enthusiasm of his 
twenty-nine years and his stout British heart, had 
sketched out for himself, and on which he was pon- 
dering as he gazed out of the window of the express 
which bore him towards Mannstadt. 

Ever3rthing which he had seen or heard since put- 
ting his foot on Continental ground had served only 
to strengthen his convictions. Even the bombastic 
newspaper article headed, The pumped-out Lion,” 
which he had just thrown aside — ^too ridiculous, in 
truth, to be taken seriously, added its pin-prick to 
that chronic irritation from which at that period 
English nerves were universally suffering. There 
were other papers beside him, with other leading arti- 
cles, but all tuned to the same note. 

How their fingers are itching ^o get at us !” was 
the reflection unavoidably suggested by their perusal. 
‘^And it would be a fine thing too” — Millards thoughts 
carried him on — to be the best-hated nation of the 
earth, if only we were also the best armed.” 


CHAPTER II. 


That same evening, having washed off the dust of 
the journey, Millar was presenting himself to his em- 
ployer, who proved to be a tall, grey-haired, decorous- 
looking personage, with a slight, badly-masked nerv- 
ousness of manner, for which at first sight there 
seemed to be no adequate reason. 

The apartment in which Herr Eisner received his 
newly engaged director was as decorous as himself, 
and also as obviously well-to-do, bearing upon its 
heavily-carved furniture, its plainly but expensively 
papered walls, its thick, soberly-tinted carpets, the 
unmistakable seal of wealth tempered by self-restraint. 

It was some minutes before Millar could come to 
any conclusion with himself regarding the man beside 
whom his lot was to be cast for a full twelve-month. 
The first impression, indeed, had not been unfavour- 
able, yet certain peculiarities of manner seemed to 
demand an explanation. 

You have a long journey behind you,^^ began Herr 
Eisner, smiling rather suddenly, and becoming grave 
again with the same abruptness. ^^That is to say 
when one considers the speed of our express trains, 
it seems almost absurd to speak of long journeys; 
those are things of the past. But perhaps you are 
nevertheless tired ? he asked, with a return of what 
looked like anxiety. 


8 THE BLOOD-TAX. 

Then — Millar having disclaimed any such sensa- 
tions — 

^^Ah, yes, the English power of resistance — such 
strength ! such vitality ! Truly, it awakens the won- 
der of the world. That is to say^^ — he hurriedly 
corrected himself — ^Vhen not applied to illegal ends.’^ 

As he sharply cleared his throat his eyes went in- 
stinctively to the newspaper at his elbow, which he 
had laid down on Millar’s entrance, and on whose 
open page the young Englishman could catch the 
heading of the ^^Pumped-out Lion” article, with 
which he was already so disagreeably familiar. 

I think I have him now,” was Millar’s reflection 
after a few more minutes of desultory conversation. 
^^It’s the dislike to commit himself to any positive 
assertion which puts him in such a hurry to modify 
his statements — a sort of degenerated prudence, ac- 
quired by too strict a course of business habits, no 
doubt. Anxiety not to say anything that he may be 
called upon to stand to later on — that’s the root of 
the nervousness. But not a bad sort, all the same. 
Xow, at this moment, I can plainly see that his honest 
German soul is hovering between the desire to make 
me feel welcome in a strange land, and deep-seated 
disapproval of the grasping and piratical race to 
which I belong, and which his favourite ^daily’ has 
just been holding up to his condemnation.” 

shall be very curious for your opinion of the 
manufactory,” began Herr Eisner, after a prolonged 
scrutiny of his well-made boots. According to our 
standards there are few faults to find ; but I am well 
aware that this is a branch of trade in which you have 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


9 


outstripped us/^ He smiled this time openly, as 
though glad to have found a perfectly safe compli- 
ment to pay. That is why I have decided for the 
English methods. And the sooner the changes can 
be carried through the better; several large orders are 
waiting — the largest quite lately received is from the 
War Office.^^ 

^^The War Office asked Millar, becoming more 
attentive. What do they want bicycles for ? 

^^Eor the autumn manoeuvres, which are to be on 
an exceptionally large scale this year, and during 
which more extensive experiments are to made with 
cyclemen scouts.” 

^^Ah! More experiments? Keally your govern- 
ment does not go to sleep, whatever may be said of 
others !” 

The laugh that went with the words was so unmis- 
takably tinged with bitterness that Herr Elsner^s dec- 
orous face showed a mild perplexity. 

^^So we shall be working for the army ? That gives 
me a quite new interest in my task, and a new zest; 
for I can truly say that my admiration of your mag- 
nificent army dates back to my childhood. To be 
quite frank — it was the chance of studying the mili- 
tary question at head-quarters which decided me to 
close with your offer. But you need not be afraid,” 
added Millar, thinking to see an additional shade of 
anxiety on his employer’s face; ^^my work shall not 
suffer because of my private passions. Although I 
confess that rifles and cannons appear to me just now 
the most interesting articles of manufactory, be sure 
that nevertheless the bicycle shall come first. And 


10 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


if in my leisure hours I choose to regale myself with 
the sight of your splendid uniforms, I presume that 
your patriotism can only take it as a compliment/^ 
He looked straight at Herr Eisner, expecting to 
meet unqualified approval, but was astonished to read 
a mixture of emotions, seemingly struggling for the 
upperhand. That the appeal to patriotism had not 
fallen flat was to be clearly seen by the flush which 
had invaded the long, clean-shaven face, as well as 
the newly-lit spark in the pale grey eyes, and yet the 
thin-lipped mouth was jerking undecidedly, almost 
disapprovingly. 

Our army — ah, yes, who would not be proud of 
that? The most magnificent in Europe — ^you say 
truly. Xo one grudges to our soldiers the recogni- 
tion they deserve, but is that a reason for withholding 
from other classes the meed they work for surely as 
hard as do our soldiers? Cannot the man with a 
black coat to his back be as good a patriot as the one 
in uniform, and is it not hard upon him to see the 
uniform always preferred? That is to say^^ — and 
Herr Eisner pulled himself up with a visible jerk — 
our gracious Emperor is the same to all his subjects, 
of course, though himself a soldier; it is the public 
only that seems inclined to make invidious distinc- 
tions — that is to say, at moments and on certain 
occasions/^ 

Yes, I know that the army is the spoilt child of 
the empire,” said Millar, with true British directness 
making straight for his object ; but I confess that 
it would give me great pleasure to make a nearer 
acquaintance with a few of those spoilt children. Do 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


11 


you know, Herr Eisner, I have been wondering 
whether you will be able to procure me any introduc- 
tions to military circles ? With so large a garrison as 
Mannstadt possesses I presume you have various offi- 
cers on your visiting list ? 

Over Herr Eisner’s face, out of which the patriotic 
flush had scarcely died, there abruptly came a certain 
prim stiffening of all the features. 

^^Not at all; we have no military names on our 
visiting list. In a place like Mannstadt you will 
readily understand that there is room for various 
circles of society, and that the very difference in their 
ingredients tends to keep each to itself. The gentle- 
men of the army have their own interests, their own 
pursuits, their own habits, and we have ours; there- 
fore, though I can introduce you to many most hon- 
ourably-placed business friends, I cannot take you 
into any officer’s house.” 

This time the badly suppressed soreness of tone, in 
which a little half-pathetic wistfulness seemed to be 
mixed, could not escape the listener’s attention, and 
had the effect of setting him pondering. 

When, a few minutes later, he rose to leave, the 
hour for next da/s inspection of the manufactory 
had been flxed. 

There is the clever young engineer whom I have 
lately engaged,” said Eisner, rising likewise. That 
is to say I take him to be clever, though his manner 
verges on the impertinent. When you have spoken 
to him you will tell me whether he will do for fltting 
up the new machinery. I have appointed him to 
meet us to-morrow,” 


12 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


He stopped short, hut instead of grasping the hand 
which Millar had instinctively extended, stood for a 
moment frowning at the floor and apparently en- 
gaged in some sharp mental conflict. 

If you are not too tired, perhaps you will allow 
me to present you to my wife?^^ was the phrase 
which broke the silence, showing that the instinct of 
hospitality had triumphed over that of caution. 

Along a well carpeted passage Millar followed his 
host to a sumptuously furnished boudoir, in which a 
big, fair-haired woman, who ten years ago had prob- 
ably been something quite out of the common in the 
Walkure style of beauty, shyly and pompously received 
him. Her hair was still beautiful, as also were her 
full red lips, but Walkiires, if they consult their van- 
ity, should never drink beer, and the redundancy of 
outline here clearly showed that too many Viertels 
had been indulged in. ^^An over-grown, over-fed 
child,^^ was Millar’s verdict at the conclusion of a 
conversation whose naive warmth of interest — Frau 
Eisner seemed chiefly anxious to know whether he 
had had enough to eat on the journey — ^both amused 
and a little touched him. Then she is not the piano- 
player,” he added in his mind. 

Even while closeted with Eisner in the distant busi- 
ness-room the sound of piano-chbrds had come faintly 
to his ear. It had met him^ more distinctly in the 
corridor, hut instead! o£ ooming ’to *lan en'd with the 
opening of the door, as he. hM expected, those chords, 
sad and soft, continued' to penetrate in monotonous 
repetition from some apartment alongside, where in 
the pauses of conversation the conscientious one — ' 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


13 


two — threes of the invisible practise! were plainly 
audible. Sounds like the accompaniment of a 
song/^ thought Millar, to whom the melody seemed 
not quite unfamiliar. 

Towards midday on the following day the inspec- 
tion of the manufactory was over, and Millar, having 
settled all necessary preliminaries with Herr Eisner, 
who had now hurried home to his midday meal, found 
himself standing in the big, unbeautiful workyard, 
in the company of Gustav Hort, that same young 
engineer whom the manufacturer had committed him- 
self so far as to pronounce clever. It had not been 
without an additional word of warning that Eisner 
had left his new director tete-a'-Ute with this young 
man. 

Very much inclined to be forward, you know; the 
sort of person that requires a good deal of keeping in 
his place, and with some extremely dangerous opin- 
ions,^^ and this time there had actually been no modi- 
fication added. 

The person thus described did not at first sight 
appear to bear out this unfavourable verdict. A tall, 
dark-haired young man, younger obviously than 
Millar himself, with a singularly wide forehead, broad 
and somewhat prominent cheek-bones, a sharply 
pointed chin, whose sharpness was accentuated by the 
stubbly black beard that outlined the face, a pair of 
fine dark eyes looking out somewhat morosely from 
under straight eyebrows — such was the appearance 
which Millar’s new acquaintance presented. Striking 
he undoubtedly was, and would have been strikingly 
handsome but for the ill-humour iii the eyes and a 


14 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


certain want of straightness in the carriage of the 
well-built figure. Neither did he impress Millar as 
unsympathetic, although his first words seemed to 
bear out at least one side of Herr Eisner’s opinion 
of him. 

So we are to work together, it seems,” he re- 
marked, without waiting for the other’s address, and 
without taking his hands out of his great-coat pockets, 
into which he had deeply thrust them. It is to be 
hoped that we shall get on.” 

That will depend principally upon yourself,” said 
Millar, somewhat distantly, mindful of Herr Eisner’s 
warning. But the unabashed engineer began to smile 
visibly under his beard. 

I know what you are thinking of ; shall I tell you ? 
At this moment you are saying to yourself : ^ The 

impudence of the animal ! It isn’t together we are to 
work, it is one above the other, and I, of course, on 
the top.’ Have I guessed it ? Since you’re an Eng- 
lishman I suppose you will tell me the truth.” 

What makes you suppose that my nation cannot 
fib when they find it convenient ?” 

^^Ah, I don’t say they cannot, only that it costs 
them a greater effort, and that, consequently, the bribe 
offered requires to be larger. I am calculating the 
proportion of chances, that is all.” 

And where have you gathered your extremely flat- 
tering opinions of my country, if I may ask ? ” 

I haven’t gathered them, I have drawn my con- 
clusions.” 

From what?” 

From your national institutions, your laws, your 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


16 


customs. Xot that I approve of them unconditionally, 
but among a mass of pernicious institutions they seem 
to me the least pernicious. Over there, at least, an 
individual may feel that he is an individual, while 
here — he shrugged his shoulders and threw a 
sharp glance around him, as though suddenly remem- 
bering that inconvenient listeners might be near. 

What do you think of your new master ? he en- 
quired, by way, obviously, of changing the subject. 

Eeally, I don’t see — began Millar in a fresh 
accent of astonishment. 

What business I have to feel any curiosity on the 
subject, or what business either you or I have to have 
any opinion at all of the man who pays us both; it’s 
his money that regards us, and not his character, 
that’s what you were nearly saying, was it not ? And 
yet that does not sound quite British. Over there you 
are allowed to have a private opinion, are you not ? ” 

Yes, but over there we have a way of keeping it 
to ourselves.” 

I understand. That is snub number two ; before 
it comes to number three it will be as well to explain 
ourselves. Since we are to work together it would 
certainly simplify matters if we completely under- 
stood each other’s point of view. Mine is very simple : 
It is my technical knowledge that I have farmed out 
to Herr Eisner for the present, not my private views, 
and so long as I give him the best I have in that line 
I cannot acknowledge other obligations towards him, 
just as little as I can acknowledge your social supe- 
riority to myself. For the work we have to do you 
require my skill quite as much as I require Herr 


16 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


Eisner’s money ; we each contribute a necessary ingre- 
dient to the result, therefore in my opinion we all 
stand equal. If you reflect upon this for a moment 
you will understand that our intercourse can only be 
pleasant if conducted on terms of perfect equality. 
On these terms I am perfectly ready to be of service 
to you in any way in which a native may serve a 
stranger, but only on these terms. It stands with 
you to close with them or to reject them.” 

His gloomy eyes lit up as he said it, and something 
in the squareness of the look by which he felt himself 
challenged, weighed down the balance in Millar’s 
mind in favour of this new and somewhat startling 
acquaintance. 

I will close with them,” he said, frankly putting 
out his hand. This morning’s inspection has shown 
me that you are the man I need ; nor do I require to 
make any violent effort to accept your friendship on 
the terms you offer it, since I have been taught from 
childhood that work is at least as respectable as 
money.” 

That will do,” said Hort, curtly, placing his hand 
for one moment in that of Millar. You are a stran- 
ger here; you will tell me if I can aid you in any- 
thing.” 

There is one thing that perhaps you can help me 
in. I have already applied to Herr Eisner, but it 
seems he can do nothing. I absolutely require some 
introductions to military men; perhaps you can pro- 
cure me these ? ” 

Military men ! ” The accent in which Hort re- 
peated the words was one almost of consternation, 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


17 


while his dark eyes grew, in an instant, threateningly 
big. ^^What do you require to know of military 
men ? 

He looked so tragical as he said it that Millar nearly 
laughed. 

I have a plan. It would take too long to explain 
now. But, to be brief, I, as well as others of my 
countrymen, have reached the conclusion that uni- 
versal conscription is the only salvation for our land. 
I am anxious to study the subject, and Germany is 
the best place for doing so : that is one of the reasons 
why I am here. But for this I require to get into 
touch with members of your splendid, your truly 
model army. Therefore I ask you: Can you help 
me here ? 

Before he had done speaking, Hort had taken two 
steps away, agitated steps, which he immediately 
retraced, standing still again before Millar with a 
face angrily convulsed. 

^^What! you — youT he said, moderating his voice 
with evident difficulty; ^^you, who belong to a free- 
born people, would bring this curse down upon a free- 
born land? You would lay the blood-tax upon your 
own shoulders? Has the spirit of slavery spread so 
far as that ? But you donT know what you are talk- 
ing about. My army ! Ha, ha ! What a joke ! Wait 
till I tell you — ^but one cannot talk here.^^ And again 
he threw that half rebellious, half fearful glance 
around him. If you want this conversation to con- 
tinue you must come to my lodgings : but perhaps you 
have heard more than you want to/^ 


18 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


On the contrary, I want to hear a great deal 
more.” 

Two minutes later an address had been put down in 
Millar’s note-book and an appointment made. As he 
walked back to his hotel he could not help wondering 
what Herr Eisner would say to this so inexplicably 
sudden intimacy with the very man whom he had been 
warned against. Undoubtedly the engineer’s views 
of life were not quite normal, but for this very reason 
they piqued Millar’s curiosity. A German not proud 
of his army ! It seemed almost an anomaly. What 
could the man have to say against it ? He must hear 
without delay, since it was of primary importance to 
look at the subject from as many different points of 
view as possible. 


CHAPTER III. 


That afternoon^ after a tramway journey, followed 
by a tramp through half-deserted streets, Millar 
found himself at the door of about the dreariest sort 
of human residence he had ever known — a house, built 
obviously experimentally on the very outskirts of the 
town, destined to form part of a future street, whose 
lines were yet chiefly marked by plankings. In a by 
no means splendid isolation it now stood, having 
found no mate as yet, presenting, to the right and to 
the left, two windowless brick walls, with the mortar 
crumbling off the cheaply stuccoed front, and spots of 
damp already soaking up from the foundation, some- 
what like a person who has grown prematurely old 
before having attained his rightful position in life. 
On either side tracts of building ground, on which no 
one built, and broken only by a few mounds of bricks 
now buried in snow ; on the plankings, largely printed 
advertisements, which no one ever read, and whose 
paper rags fluttered limply in the wind. Nothing 
more depressing could well be imagined than this 
missed experiment of an enterprising builder seen thus 
through the winter dusk. 

On the third storey Hort was already standing in 
an open doorway. 

I saw you coming ; our traffic isnH so dense out 
here as to make it difficult to pick out an acquaint- 


20 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


ance/^ and he smiled sharply and bitterly. If you 
do me the honour — the pleasure/^ he corrected him- 
self — of visiting me again, I should not advise you 
to come after dusk without a good revolver in your 
pocket. Why, my own apartment is not unlike a den 
of thieves, is it ? 

^^Xot very unlike,^^ mused Millar, as he looked 
about him at the dingy walls, whose bareness was 
relieved only by untidy looking pipe-racks and by a 
pair of crossed fencing rapiers — remnants of student 
days, no doubt — at the smoked ceiling, the badly 
painted deal floor, the huge bed-sofa, on which the 
cheap ginger-coloured stuff had burst at one place, 
allowing the horsehair stuffing to creep out. 

It was on the ginger-coloured sofa that Millar was 
invited to take place, while Hort, having selected a 
cigar for his guest, proceeded to kindle a long- 
stemmed pipe for himself. So complete was the 
silence in which the next few minutes passed that the 
meeting seemed to bear the character of a smoking 
concert rather than that of a projected discussion. 
Even when Hort spoke at last it was not to refer to 
the subject of the morning’s talk. 

^^I forget,” he remarked, re-adjusting his meer- 
schaum, did you tell me or not whether you had seen 
Frau Eisner ? ” 

Yes ; I was presented to her.” 

And to no one else? ” 

Is there anyone else ? ” 

^^Then you did not see Praulein Thekla?” asked 
Hort, with a rather keen side glance, which escaped 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 21 

Millar’s attention only because he was busy with his 
cigar. 

^^Xo, but perhaps I heard her. There certainly 
was someone practising music alongside. She is the 
daughter^ I suppose ? ” 

The only daughter/’ said Hort, briefly^ and again 
lapsed into silence. 

Having waited another minute, Millar decided for 
direct action. 

I, too, have an answer to claim. I asked you this 
morning whether you could introduce me to any offi- 
cers; and, although the subject seems to touch you 
very nearly, you have not said either ^yes,’ or ^no.’ ” 

Awaking from deep thought with a movement 
whose abruptness resembled a start, Hort, without 
speaking at once, got up from his place, and, going to 
the door, seemed to be assuring himself that the pas- 
sage was clear. 

^^Yes, it is true that the subject touches me very 
nearly/’ he said, as he slowly returned. ^^You will 
scarcely believe what a shock you gave me in talking 
of conscription this morning. You, an Englishman, 
making yourself into an advocate for that hateful 
military yoke ! Explain that to me, if you can ! ” 

Explain to me, rather, how it comes, that you, a 
German, should be an adversary of that system whose 
results have placed your country so high among the 
nations.” 

I am not a German !” said Hort, with a gesture 
that was almost violent. 

^^Xot a German? What then?” 

^^A man born by chance in Germany, and whom 


22 


THE BIOOD-TAX. 


this mere accident cannot identify with its hateful 
institutions, the most hateful of which is that mob 
of uniformed policemen under whose pressure we 
groan/^ 

Then as Millar sat looking at him with something 
very like consternation on his face : — 

^^You are astonished, I see, and I am a little aston- 
ished myself. I do not generally give myself away 
quite so easily — ^never to a German ; but you are not a 
German, and I am a man who goes by impressions ; 
now your face gives me the impression that my confi- 
dence will not be misused.^^ 

^^That it will certainly not be ; but 

^^But you cannot help wondering what sort of a 
person you are talking to. I will tell you the worst 
at once ; or rather, tell me first what you exactly un- 
derstand by an anarchist 

^^An anarchist? — well, we know them mostly by 
hearsay as yet ; but by an anarchist I fancy I under- 
stand principally a thrower of bombs and firer off of 
pistols at royal heads.^^ 

" I thought so. It is the terrorists that have earned 
us that reputation. I have nothing to do with those 
illogical hot-heads. Can violence be fought with vio- 
lence? Why, exactly the elimination of violence is 
the very root of our theories. It not in the bombs 
that salvation lies. But if to disapprove from the 
bottom of one^s heart of the present constitution of 
society, to spend each leisure hour in studying the 
means for wiping away the present unhappy order 
and substituting another happier one, is to be an 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


23 


anarchist, then you have an anarchist before you, and 
one who would not object to dying for his cause.^^ 

He had not sat down again, and now stood still in 
front of his visitor, who continued to gaze up, fasci- 
nated and perplexed, into his dark, eager face. 

I can read disapproval in your eyes — ^that was to 
be expected. To begin with you are an Englishman, 
that is, a comparatively free individual, as ideas of 
freedom nowadays stand. In the second place you are 
well situated; that is to say, you belong to that class 
which profits by present arrangements. Why should 
you want any change ? It would not profit to you, only 
to people of whose existence you are, of course, aware, 
but whom you have only looked at through the 
medium of dry statistics or perhaps of emotional news- 
paper articles, — never close at hand, never as man to 
man. You have subscribed to charities, of course, 
and given coins to beggars, and I feel certain that you 
have never illtreated any of the workmen in your 
manufactories. But what do you know of their inti- 
mate existence? Of the private miseries of those 
same men and women whose blistered hands gain your 
substantial meals first and their piece of dry bread 
afterwards ? Have you been into their homes ? Have 
you lain upon their beds, to prove their hardness ? I 
have ! Have you turned your stomach with the nau- 
seous food they live upon ? I have ! I have ! Have 
you held your nose at the smells they move among? 
If you had done all these things, or only half of them, 
you would not wonder at so many bombs being thrown 
and so many pistols fired off, you would wonder 
rather at there being so few; you would ask yourself 


24 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


with astonishment whence one-half of humanity — 
what do I say? — whence nine-tenths of humanity 
takes the ass-like docility, the imbecile patience to 
submit to the tyranny of the one-tenth/^ 

With a sharply drawn breath he broke off, and, 
moving towards the table, began to grope about 
blindly for the matches, for within the last few min- 
utes the dusk had turned almost to darkness. Millar, 
moved in spite of himself by the penetration of the 
tone and mechanically following the gestures of the 
other, could see how the hand which struck the match 
and put the flame to a tin petroleum lamp, jerked 
with excitement. A minute passed before the badly 
trimmed wick would burn, and during which neither 
of the men spoke. 

God forbid that I should declare ever3d;hing to be 
as it should be,^^ observed Millar after that pause. 

Our present order of things has its flaws — its deep 
flaws — I admit it, though nothing proves that any 
better order is possible. But what puzzles me is your 
spite against the army; the army, surely, is not re- 
sponsible for the miseries of the poor 

The army is the instrument of the government, 
is it not ? its most tangible, its most efficacious instru- 
ment ; no government feels quite safe except behind a 
hedge of bayonets ; and since I disapprove of the very 
existence of a government I naturally disapprove of 
its instruments, and would disapprove, even if the cost 
of those smart tunics and glittering helmets did not 
come out of the pockets of the hungering people.^^ 
^^And yet you must have passed through the army 
yourself?” 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


25 


I had not passed through it, it is possible that 
I might hate it less/^ said Hort, with a simplicity that 
verged on the grim. ^^You know something of my 
views now; perhaps you can imagine what it means, 
with these views, to have to put on a uniform and 
become not an individual but a unit in a mass, to have 
to move my arms and legs, not when I want to move 
them, but at the bellowed-out command of some red- 
nosed sergeant, whom in ordinary life I would never 
dream of shaking hands with — ^my inferior in educa- 
tion, in breeding, in everything that ought to count, 
yet in uniform my superior, or rather the arbitrary 
sovereign before whose tipsy gaze I am expected to 
quail. And this is what we all have to submit to, 
with rage in our hearts or no, it makes no difference, 
— it^s one of the charms of the system that private 
feelings do not count.’^ 

Millar was silent, lost in deep reflection. All this 
was so totally new to him as to be disconcerting. 
Whatever might be thought of conscription on the 
other side of the channel, he had expected to hear but 
one voice on this side. But, though troubled he was 
not shaken. The source from which the objection 
came was one which his law-abiding British soul could 
not accept as legitimate. 

At any rate, it is clear that I have come to the 
wrong address so far as the military introductions are 
concerned,^^ he remarked presently, with a laugh 
which was intended to give a lighter turn to the talk. 
^^Eeally, it seems that I have no luck in this matter.” 

I don’t know about that,” said Hort, taking place 
again after an uneasy walk about the room, and 


26 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


slowly fingering his burnt-out pipe. I have prom- 
ised to help you if I could, and although I disapprove 
of the object, I am accustomed to keep my promises. 
I cannot take you into any military family, but I can 
do something else — I can procure you an invitation.” 

To what?” 

To a big public ball that is to take place on Thurs- 
day next, the ball of the press, one of the finest feasts 
of every carnival, and a tremendously luxurious affair. 
If you want to see uniforms you will see plenty there. 
Yes — that will be the best way,” he mused, evidently 
caught by something in his own suggestion ; no bet- 
ter opportunity of viewing the military element in its 
full glory ;” and to himself he added, ^ As good a cure 
as any other.” 

But surely you are not going to this ball ? ” 

Yes, I am; why should that astonish you? ” 

Because the patronising of such a feast of luxury 
scarcely seems to accord with some of the principles 

you have just been ” 

"I have to do lots of things that are against my 
principles,” interrupted Hort with a return of his 
habitual moroseness. Do you think it accords with 
my principles to help Herr Eisner to become richer 
than he is, by putting new machinery into his manu- 
factory? Why do I do it? Because I am poor and 
must live, and because the present order of the world 
leaves me no other way of living,” and he threw a 
disdainful glance around him at the cheerless room, 
BO faintly lighted by the tin petroleum lamp that the 
comers remained black, and so feebly heated by the 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 27 

iron stove that Millar’s feet were beginning to grow 
chilled. 

Before a necessity, of course, we have to bow,” 
pursued Millar a little obstinately; ^^but in a mere 

question of pleasure ” 

But again he was interrupted. 

In mere questions of pleasure I follow only my 
pleasure,” said Hort more curtly than he had spoken 
yet, and with a certain sensitiveness of tone which 
seemed to imply that the point touched upon was a 
sore one. 


CHAPTER IV. 


Such was Millar’s impatience to start on his new 
quest that Thursday probably appeared to him longer 
in coming than it did to the most pleasure-loving of 
the hundreds of young girls now preparing their 
radiant costumes for the great press ball. Every 
body of troops he caught sight of in the streets, every 
strain of military music that reached his ears served 
only to sharpen this impatience; they seemed each 
and all to be pictures come straight out of the lumber- 
room of childish memories, with the dust of years 
wiped off them, and shining once more with the bright 
varnish of actuality. 

When the evening came on which he had fixed his 
hopes he and Hort were among the first to hand over 
their overcoats in the garde-robe, ^^Hobody comes 
before eleven o’clock,” Hort had objected, and yet had 
pelded without marked resistance to the pressure of 
the other’s impatience. 

Despite his preoccupation Millar, in the moment 
that they crossed the threshold of the brilliantly 
lighted but still almost empty room, had cast upon 
his companion a look of some astonishment, for in this 
faultlessly-attired, well-groomed individual by his 
side it was difficult to recognise the ill-humoured 
wearer of those somewhat threadbare overcoats in 
which he had been accustomed to see the engineer 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


29 


lately, or the possessor of the gaping, ginger-coloured 
sofa, and least of all the enunciator of those revolu- 
tionary views of life with which Millar himself had 
been so lately startled. The ill-humour itself seemed 
to have yielded to the influence of the festive surround- 
ings, or perhaps to some pleasurable expectation whose 
reflection was softening the harshness of the usually 
go gloomy eyes. 

Decidedly a good-looking fellow,^^ was Millar’s 
mental verdict, ^^and doesn’t look particularly dan- 
gerous to Society just now. Quite cuts me out, too.” 

The mirror beside which they were passing at that 
moment showed him his own equally well appointed 
but somewhat shorter figure, whose golden-brown hair 
contrasted sharply with his companion’s darkness. 

By the time they had made one tour of the huge 
room they began to lose themselves among the arri- 
vals, now streaming in incessantly; mostly black 
coats, as yet, enlivened here and there by a ball-dress. 

But no uniforms,” remarked Millar, dissatisfied. 

Hort laughed, flicking the glove he held in his 
hand. 

Xever fear ! You will have more uniforms than 
you have bargained for before the end of the evening. 
Why should a demi-god make himself cheap by coming 
early ? ” 

An hour later the room was almost full, and Millar 
able to feast his eyes upon so many different sorts of 
tunics and shoulder-straps, such a brilliant display of 
gold cords and of glittering spurs that even his curi- 
osity was perforce appeased. Many and costly were 
the women’s gowns which had swept past him during 


30 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


that hour, but none possessed for him the charm that 
did the tight-fitting coats of the infantry officers or 
the richer dress of dragoons and lancers. Even gen-* 
erals’ coats and broadly-decorated breasts were not 
awanting in the resplendent crowd, for the press ball 
was one of the events of the carnival. 

A splendid set of men and no mistake,” mused 
Millar, ensconced at a point of vantage, and they 
know it, too.” 

About this there could be no doubt. From the 
moment that Millar had witnessed the entrance of the 
very first lieutenant, glaringly visible among so many 
civilians, he had instantly felt that it was not his uni- 
form alone which made him conspicuous, but also the 
air of complete and ostentatious assurance with which 
this beardless boy cast his eyes up and down the ball- 
room. 

Looks as if the place belonged to him, does he 
not ?” Hort had observed in his ear. 

And presently, when the uniforms had multiplied, 
Millar had recognised this same expression on almost 
every face that surmounted a military neck-band, so 
marked as to constitute between them something like 
a family likeness, which rendered them more similar 
even than did their military bearing, or the rigid 
fashion in which their hair was parted and their 
moustaches turned up. 

Xor was this the last of the observations to which 
the cicerone by his side diligently assisted him. 

^^You have heard of chemical elements that will 
not mix, have you not ? Here you can study the same 
problem applied to Society. Does it not seem as 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


31 


though the coloured coats and the black ones were 
drawn apart by some working of elementary laws ? 

Millar looked, and was forced to acknowledge that, 
despite its exaggeration, the remark had an undoubted 
reason. In the mazes of the dance all elements were 
indeed inevitably mixed, but scarcely had the music 
ceased than officers of all degrees seemed naturally to 
gravitate towards the upper end of the room, forming 
there a large, irregular island of colour, out of which 
single as well as double eye-glasses were turned with 
a good deal of sans gene upon the rows of ladies ranged 
along the walls. 

The gods in Olympus taking a look at mere mor- 
tals,^^ remarked Hort with his bitterly incisive laugh. 

And they have chosen their place well, too, — far the 
best for getting a good view of the dresses, and the one 
safest from draughts.^^ 

Well, but they haven’t hired that end of the room, 
I suppose?” 

Oh no ; they have only been given the first choice 
and have taken it; just as they are given the first 
choice in everything else as well — in partners, for in- 
stance. Have you observed how all the blaek eoats 
hang back until their excellencies of the army have 
made their selection?” 

Millar had remarked something of the sort, and had 
thought also to read a quite especial light of pleasure 
on the faces of those ladies who had secured uniformed 
partners. Despite his military sympathies this so 
naively-marked preference had even provoked him a 
little, according badly with British ideas of individual 
worth. 


32 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


Can you imagine any spectacle more degrading to 
human nature than this truckling of one class to an- 
other ?” went on Hort by his side. Look at those 
two grey-haired men moving out of the road of that 
group of captains, as though fearing to incommode 
them. They are only the heads of civilian depart- 
ments, poor fellows, so of course they feel it is their 
place to make way. Look at that row of humble, 
round-backed professors, unable to take their specta- 
cled eyes off the army group ? Do they not appear to 
be lost in ecstatic contemplation? Of what? Of a 
few dozen young men whom they would infallibly 
pluck at the simplest examination outside military 
lines, but which yet to these masters of learning rep- 
resent the flower of the nation. Agree with me that 
it is ridiculous!’^ 

It is, at any rate, astonishing, but you must not 
expect me to form my conclusions so quickly. Pray 
don’t consider yourself bound to play my chaperon all 
the evening,” added Millar, who began to feel that he 
would prefer to look at things through his own eyes 
instead of through those of his companion. I have 
the sensation of being a dead-weight on your hands. 
Are you not going to dance ? ” 

Perhaps I shall dance presently,” said Hort, 
whose eyes, for some time past, had been constantly 
returning to the entrance. 

^^Herr Eisner mentioned that he would be here 
to-night, but I do not see him. He seems to have 
changed his mind.” 

" I do not think he has changed his mind ; but we 
shall soon know; if he is coming at all he must be 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


33 


coming now. He is never among the early arrivals, 
and his passion for hitting off the juste milieu will 
forbid his coming later. You have observed his pro- 
pensity for always being on the safe side, have you 
not ? Ah ! did I not say so ? 

Millar, astonished at the sudden lighting up of his 
companion’s whole face, turned his own towards the 
doorway in instinctive quest of the cause. Herr 
Eisner, with his large, fair-haired wife on his arm, 
was at that moment making his highly decorous en- 
trance ; but, although Frau Eisner’s monumental 
figure was draped in sky-blue brocade, and although 
upon her vast, white neck glittered there a necklace 
of diamonds towards whose price a good many bicycles 
must have contributed, it was evidently not this sight 
which was working upon the engineer’s nerves. 

Millar looked beyond and began to understand, for 
from behind the broad, fair-haired figure, another 
figure, equally fair-haired, equally tall, but most 
divinely proportioned, had now emerged. 

I suppose that is Fraulein Thekla,” he remarked, 
without getting any reply, and without even noticing 
the absence of assent, being already lost in the con- 
templation of this latest apparition of the ball-room. 

There was a brilliancy about her which struck the 
spectator with almost as much astonishment as admi- 
ration, for the pure gold of her hair seemed so exactly 
to match the golden band at her waist and the golden 
hem to her skirt, her milk-white neck and arms were 
so near in tint to the bodice that encased them, that 
the first impression was of a figure all in white and 
gold, that of some goddess, perhaps, descended lately 


34 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


from Walhalla, or of some figure out of an ancient 
legend — a German legend, of course, for where out of 
Germany could such perfectly golden hair be found ? 
In that first moment Millar was visited by the whim- 
sical idea that the threads of gold which ran bewih 
deringly through the tissue of her dress were nothing 
but her own hair, which she had used for embroidering 
her gown, as other women use silk. 

Having lost sight of her in the crowd, he turned, 
rather excitedly, to put some question to Hort, but 
discovered that his companion was gone. When he 
saw him again it was with his arm laid round Thekla 
Eisner’s waist, and whirling along to the sound of a 
waltz. As he caught sight of Hort’s face, so trans- 
formed by the tender light upon it as to be almost 
unrecognisable, Millar felt more than one light dawn- 
ing in his mind. No difficulty now, at any rate, about 
explaining the engineer’s presence here. And I 
fancy I have got the clue to Eisner’s antipathy to the 
man,” he mused, as he marked how shyly Thekla’s 
eyes were raised to her partner’s face. The para- 
mount necessity of keeping him in his place must 
exercise my employer’s mind considerably under the 
circumstances. And she looks quite romantic enough 
to let her heart run away with her head, I should say. 
Well, if I read the signs aright he is a lucky dog, and 
no mistake.” 

Something of a sigh went along with the unspoken 
words; for although Millar was not extraordinarily 
susceptible, as young men go, and although his mind 
was too busy at present in one direction to leave it 
free in others, that gold-and- white vision had touched 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


35 


his fancy in a way in which the many other women 
who had passed that evening before his eyes had failed 
to touch him. 

That her appearance, even among this crowd of fair 
faces, had not missed its effect was best to be seen by a 
certain commotion among the group of uniforms at 
the upper end of the room, where an exchange of 
questions and answers and a general resettling of 
lorgnons and pince-nez were to be observed. But as 
yet it was only civilians that pressed around her chair, 
rubicund young men with carefully pomaded hair and 
enormous flowers in their button-holes, the scions, no 
doubt, of those honourable business families of whom 
Eisner had spoken. 

^^What they can do, surely I can do as weiy^ 
thought Millar, making his way towards the Eisner 
family group. 

It was a pause between two dances, and Thekla, 
programme in hand, was vainly endeavoring to satisfy 
the demands pouring in upon her. The cotillon 
she was saying in the moment that Millar came within 
hearing — I do not think we shall stay for the cotil- 
lon ; it is no use engaging myself for it.^^ 

She looked up a little deprecatingly into Hort’s face 
as she said it, and then furtively towards her father, 
who, standing at two paces off, was uneasily observing 
her. 

I really am afraid ; Mamma,^^ and she turned 

towards her mother — ^Vhat do you think? Shall we 
be gone before the cotillon 

I am afraid so,^^ said Frau Eisner, with so heavy 
a sigh that the diamonds which upon her plump. 


36 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


white neck were displayed to as great advantage as on 
the white velvet cushion in a jeweller’s show window, 
heaved visibly upwards and then down again. 

It is most probable that we shall be going home 
early,” observed Eisner, with, for him, an unusual 
amount of decision. ^^You cannot engage yourself 
for the cotillon.” 

I suppose not,” said Thekla, and as she closed her 
programme, Millar saw a glance exchanged between 
her and the engineer which certainly struck him as 
being one of mutual regret. 

It was at this moment that he made the discovery 
that her eyes were of an astonishingly deep blue, so 
dark as not to appear blue at all unless closely looked 
at, and redeeming her gentle face from any danger of 
insipidity. Seen thus close she appeared distinctly 
younger than she did at a distance. Her queenly 
height, as well as the perfect proportions of her ex- 
quisitely moulded figure, had given Millar the impres- 
sion of something entirely finished, of something 
beautifully mature; but at a closer view there were 
all sorts of childish dimples and curves to be discov- 
ered about the regal style of beauty, details of gesture 
and speech which told him that this golden-haired 
goddess was, after all, but a mortal child. Yet this 
second discovery brought no disappointment, rather 
a delicious surprise. 

When Millar had been once round the room with his 
arm round the goddess’s waist he felt more than ever 
inclined to envy Hort the good luck with which he 
credited him, for the shoulder that touched his own 
was of satin smoothness, ^nd the voice in which she 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


37 


replied to his few remarks was of that peculiar crystal 
clearness which we instinctively couple with the ab- 
sence of all guile. Yet the idea of putting himself 
up as a rival to his new friend visited him only to be 
rejected. It would not only be a treachery, it would 
also be a waste of time, since it was not for his pleas- 
ure that he was here to-night, but for his business, 
which, however, seemed in no way to be progressing. 
With growing anxiety Millar noted that time was 
passing, without bringing him any nearer to his 
object. To admire the phalanx of uniforms at a dis- 
tance, even to brush elbows with them in the crowd, 
was an interesting experience, no doubt, but so long 
as he could procure no introduction little was gained. 
How reach the fulfilment of his desire ? How break 
through the invisible wall, intangible but unmistak- 
able, which seemed to raise itself between the two 
elements in the ball-room, the military and the civil- 
ian? He was pondering upon this problem when a 
small occurrence attracted his attention, — only one of 
the rubicund youths leading up a dragoon officer, 
whom with a self-conscious flourish he presented to 
Herr Eisner. Millar was near enough to observe the 
flush of mingled astonishment and gratification which 
spread over the manufacturer’s face as he returned 
the salute, and then, obviously at the officer’s request, 
took him up to his wife and daughter. 

Thekla had that moment returned from a waltz tour 
which had been so lively as to displace one of the 
heavy coils of her hair. Beautifully flushed, with 
parted lips, and one hand held up to her head, she 
turned to face the new acquaintance. The flush grew 


38 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


deeper as she met the open admiration of the gaze 
fixed upon her, while as her eyes glanced over the 
showy uniform, Millar thought he read in them some- 
thing of the same pleasurable astonishment which he 
had seen in the face of the father. Small wonder, 
indeed, since this was the first partner in uniform who 
had approached her to-night. In another moment his 
strong arm was bearing her into the heart of the bril- 
liant crowd. 

magnificent couple,^^ Millar was forced to 
acknowledge to himself, as he noted the martial 
squareness of the dragoon’s shoulders, and observed 
how even Thekla’s height seemed to dwindle beside 
his youthfully herculean figure. As he thought it he 
began to search with his eyes for Hort; ^^Has he seen 
them, I wonder ? ” he was asking himself. 

Yes, he certainly had seen them; the scowl dis- 
figuring the engineer’s face left no doubt of that. It 
would seem as though, for hini, a black shadow had 
suddenly descended upon the festive scene. 

But Millar’s thoughts had flowed into another chan- 
nel. He saw close to him at last the opportunity he 
had waited for all the evening. Even before Thekla 
had returned from her waltz tour he was standing 
beside Eisner. 

^^You have one military acquaintance now,” he 
remarked, touching the manufacturer on the sleeve. 

I presume you will have no objection to introducing 
me.” 

Eisner looked at him mistrustfully. 

^^That dragoon officer who is dancing with your 
daughter. I saw him being presented to you.” 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


39 


But I don’t know him at all ; that is to say 

You know him enough for my purpose/’ said 
Millar, with the inexorableness of a fixed resolve. 

There — the waltz is at an end ; he is returning. Be 
so kind as to make us acquainted.” 

And the manufacturer felt himself being taken 
firmly by the arm and guided in the desired direction. 

Herr Millar — Lieutenant Pletze.” Having mur- 
mured the words he left the two young men standing 
opposite to each other. 

The almost naive astonishment upon the lieuten- 
ant’s face came near, in the first moment, to discon^ 
certing Millar. ^^What on earth does he want of me ?” 
those wide-open blue eyes seemed to be saying aloud. 
He was a splendid young giant, as Millar was able 
now to observe, and a typical specimen of his race, 
with short-cropped, curly hair, only a shade darker 
than Thekla’s own, and a pleasantly-fresh, healthily- 
pink, if somewhat large-featured face. Whether he 
would have cut so fine a figure out of uniform was at 
least questionable, just as it was doubtful whether 
anything short of military drill would have taught 
him how to use his massive hands and feet without 
awkwardness, but such as he now stood before Millar 
he appeared undoubtedly calculated to attract the gaze 
not only of women but even of men. 

With a dumb inclination he was about to turn away, 
when Millar, recovering from a certain momentary 
abashment, began to speak quickly. 

You must excuse me ; this must seem to you rather 
abrupt. I am a stranger here, and I have a very par- 
ticular request to make.” 


40 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


Of me ? ” asked Lieutenant Pletze, raising his fair 
eyebrows to an almost grotesque height, while at the 
same time following with his eyes the movements of 
Thekla Eisner, who was sitting down again by her 
mother’s side. It was obvious that the whole man was 
quivering with ill-suppressed impatience, fretting 
with every nerve of his body against this untoward 
interruption. 

Yes, of you, since you are the first German officer 
whom I have the good luck to speak to.” 

You are an Englishman? ” 

Yes, but an Englishman who is deeply interested 
in your army.” 

Ah ! An English officer, perhaps? ” and the cold- 
ness upon the boyishly-pink face began visibly to melt. 

^^Unfortunately not; but I am nevertheless study- 
ing a military problem. Let me explain.” 

While he hurriedly sketched his views, Millar could 
note the exact stages by which the impatience of his 
hearer merged into awakening interest. When he had 
done speaking he found the officer’s eyes fixed upon 
his face and shining with a light which wonderfully 
transformed an otherwise commonplace countenance. 

You are right — ah yes, you are right ! ” he ex- 
claimed, with an impulse which swept away the last 
traces of his initial frigidity. Every word you say 
is true. Though you are not a soldier I see that you 
have the soul of one. We have long been convinced 
that you would end by following the example we have 
set to Europe. A great nation without a great army, — 
it is an impossibility nowadays. How rightly you 
have weighed the question ; but it is a pity, after all. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


41 


that you are not a soldier yourself !” and bending a 
little towards Millar, as though out of regard to pos- 
sible listeners around them, he added a little lower: 
^Tt is the only thing worth being, believe me He 
was looking at the other with undisguised sympathy, 
through which a flavour of frank compassion pierced. 
Yet Millar, in this moment, felt able to bear even the 
sublime arrogance of the flnal remark. This was the 
first direct encouragement he was receiving to those 
views which he had cherished for so long in the depth 
of his mind, and the sympathy was so pleasant as to 
make even the compassion acceptable, independently 
of that irresistible impression which so obviously sin- 
cere enthusiasm never fails to produce. 

I see that you love your country as one^s country 
ought to be loved,^’ he was saying now, with a warmth 
of approval which made even his strong lips quiver. 

They had drawn a little apart from the crowd, and 
Millar was beginning to hope for a prolonged conver- 
sation, when the first notes of a fresh dance tune rose 
above the buzz of human voices. Immediately the 
lieutenant’s eyes began again to wander. 

You have set yourself a noble task,” he said in a 
voice that had grown suddenly abstracted, and I will 
do what I can to help you.” 

Perhaps by introducing me to some of these gen- 
tlemen ?” suggested Millar, looking towards the 
island of uniforms. 

I could do that too, but a ball-room is scarcely the 
place for discussions of this sort. But I can do better 
than that. I will take you to my Colonel’s house ; he 
is very hospitable, and you will meet plenty of military 


42 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


men there. Unfortunately he is not here to-night, or 
I should introduce you at once. We shall speak again 
about this. For the present you will excuse me.” 

He was gone this time for good, and presently Mil- 
lar discovered him again by Thekla Eisner’s side, 
obviously oblivious of everything except her neigh- 
bourhood. 

Quite the orthodox coup de foudre/^ he reflected, 
and as he became aware that Hort, too, was watching 
the couple from a distance, he had the very vivid sen- 
sation of assisting at the first act of something that 
might not improbably develop into a drama. 

The impression deepened when later in the evening 
he came across the engineer, evidently in search of 
him. 

am going,” said Hort, speaking between his 
teeth ; and I imagine that you must have had enough 
of it too by this time.” 

Going already? Why, they are only just starting 
the cotillon ! ” 

I know. I don’t want to see the cotillon. If you 
want to, you will have to manage for yourself.” 

^^That means that Fraulein Thekla is gone,” 
thought Millar, looking round him; but he had not 
looked far before he saw the white-and-gold vision 
just taking her place in the long row of dancers by 
the side of Lieutenant Pletze. He looked back quickly 
at Hort. 

Surely I heard Herr Eisner saying that they were 
going to leave before the cotillon ? ” 

That was when I was the partner proposed,” said 
Hort, in a voice that was unsteady with rage. Xow 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


43 


that one of the demi-gods has deigned to stoop so far 
no doubt Eisner has found it in his heart to postpone 
the departure/^ 

Millar looked curiously towards Thekla. At this 
distance it was difficult to judge of her expression, yet 
her bearing did not appear to be that of a victim, and 
the flush on her cheek might be ascribed either to 
exercise or to pleasurable excitement. 

Come along,^^ said Hort, impatiently at his elbow, 

we have nothing to look for here, either you or I ; or 
do you imagine, perhaps, that because your coat is 
made by a London tailor it has a value in any of the 
eyes that look at you ? How can it, since it is a mere 
black coat ? Even the money in its pockets cannot save 
you from insignificance here. There, you are coming, 
are you not ? 

Yes, I am coming,’^ said Millar, infected without 
quite knowing it by the other’s grievance, which, to a 
certain extent, was also his own, for the sight of those 
triumphant uniforms had for several hours past been 
acting as an irritant even upon his nerves. He had 
certainly never been in any ball-room in which his 
personal importance had dwindled in so humiliating a 
manner. At home, he had always ranged as a dis- 
tinctly successful ^^ady’s man,” and without being 
inordinately presumptuous, he had somehow expected, 
even if only as a stranger, to be a rather more con- 
spicuous figure here. It was his sense of national im- 
portance which was smarting, quite as much as his 
personal vanity, as he followed Hort out of the 
crowded room. 


CHAPTER V* 


Whatever sentimental preoccupations the ball 
might have brought him, Lieutenant Pletze proved to 
be as good as his word, and only two days later Millar, 
by his side, crossed the threshold of Colonel von 
Grunewalde, commander of the twentieth dragoons. 

It was beginning to be high time to find an outlet 
for the anxiety which was devouring the exiled Eng- 
lishman, to whom the perusal of German newspapers 
was becoming ever more trying. Ill-will, and noth- 
ing but ill-will, was to be found in the printed col- 
umns. Almost daily was the thick type brought out 
in order to accentuate English reverses, while skil- 
fully disposed points of interrogation endeavoured to 
explain away the successes. With a little imagination 
the grins of delight could be read between the lines 
of the telegrams, the yells of joy heard in the very 
rustling of the sheets which Millar daily unfolded. 
^^More English Defeats’’ — ^^Bad Luck upon Bad 
Luck” — ^^General Buller’s Blunders” — ^^Lord Meth- 
uen’s Muddles” — such was the style of the headings 
which met his eye, while the same popular paper 
which had published the ^Tumped-out Lion” article, 
now assured him that the steps of fate which were 
hurrying Great Britain to— her doom were audible to 
anyone who was not stone-deaf ; also that the British 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


45 


chariot was being dragged towards the abyss of de- 
struction — ^^through an ocean of blood and slime !” 

Whatever doubts he might have on the correctness 
of this prophecy, the mental isolation from which he 
was suffering had made him sensitive enough to be 
troubled by its mere enunciation. 

^Teels rather like entering the enemy’s camp,” was 
Millar’s reflection, as he followed his guide into 
Colonel von Grunewalde’s drawing-room, and the flrst 
words which met his ear seemed to support this view. 

^^Every one of our lieutenants — what do I say? — 
every one of our cadets is expected to know what an 
English General, if he knows it at all, seems to know 
only by chance” — a tall, bony-looking man in uniform 
was proclaiming to several listeners. It was evident 
that a discussion on the latest military muddle in 
South Africa was in full flow. 

At sight of the visitor, the speaker, who proved to 
be the master of the house, broke off short, turning 
his sun-tanned, skin-and-bone face towards the door- 
way. 

Several minutes passed before, the introductions 
being over, Millar was able to take exact stock of the 
four people in the room. 

About the grey-haired colonel there was evidently 
not much to be discovered ; he looked what he was— 
a soldier to the marrow of his very conspicuous bones, 
and nothing but a soldier, precise in his movements, a 
little hard in his gaze, and plain in his manner. With 
this plainness of person the look of the room accorded 
strangely, for it, too, was of a simplicity which took 
Millar completely hy surprise. In the midst of the 


46 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


luxuries of a rich manufacturing town, of which he 
had already had divers glimpses, this absence of fash- 
ionable draperies, this scantiness even of necessary 
furniture, gave the impression of an almost Spartan- 
like rigidity. What chairs there were were chiefly of 
basket-work, the one sofa, covered with a solid-looking 
rug, was of the sort most easily converted into a bed. 
For ornaments a few lithographs of horses on the 
walls, and various old-fashioned arms disposed sym- 
metrically ; on the floor a few horses’ skins in guise of 
carpets; in one corner a book-shelf, of an obviously 
portable nature, and not a knick-knack to be dis- 
covered anywhere. It was only later on that Millar 
learned to see in this dearth of furniture, not so much 
a sign of scanty means as an idiosyncrasy of the 
colonel’s, a certain military coquetry, which piqued 
itself on attaining the highest degree of mobility com- 
patible with moderate comfort. To live in chronic 
marching-order had always been Colonel von Grune- 
walde’s ideal ; and so anxious was he to keep his bag- 
gage within suitable limits that every new purchase 
in the household was watched by him with deep dis- 
trust. In the regiment there existed a legend con- 
cerning a dressing-gown which his daughter had once 
presented him with at Christmas, and which had cost 
him a sleepless night. For a man who prided him- 
self on being able to pack up his belongings in six 
hours, and who had worked out the details of the 
process on paper, the question of where that dressing- 
gown should be housed in case of a sudden marching- 
order, could not fail to be a serious one. Whether 
Madame von Grunewalde, if she had lived long 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


47 


enough^ might not have succeeded in reconciling her 
pedant of a husband to the agreeable superfluities of 
life, remained an open question, since she had early 
received a marching-order into another world, which 
had perforce to be obeyed, and Hedwig, the daughter, 
left to her father’s sole care, had been trained by him 
from infancy to walk in his own footsteps. Besides 
the colonel there were two officers in the room, com- 
rades of their host, both big and red-faced, with the 
difference between them that while in the younger of 
the two this vividness of complexion appeared to pro- 
ceed from a somewhat choleric temperament, in the 
other it spoke of unmistakable joviality. 

The fourth person present, and the only woman, 
was that same Hedwig who had presented her father 
with the unappreciated dressing-gown. Small and 
slight, with warm brown hair curling about her tem- 
ples, and white teeth flashing between eager red lips, 
she attracted instantly, without being able to bear a 
very severe analysis. Black eyebrows, placed piquantly 
aslant and very finely pencilled, gave to her irregular 
face the unmistakable stamp of energy, a suggestion 
which was borne out by the small but square chin. 
She had a delicately brilliant complexion and a very 
white forehead, which she was fond of spoiling by 
drawing up into fine folds on the smallest provoca- 
tion, by this means putting her slanting eyebrows yet 
more and almost grotesquely aslant. Gaiety of tem- 
perament and health of mind as well as of body looked 
straight out of her grey eyes, while the brown curls 
and an extreme vivacity of movement spread a certain 


48 the blood-tax. 

not unpleasant suggestion of boyishness over her small 
person. 

^‘You would oblige me greatly,” said Millar, turn- 
ing towards his host, as soon as he found himself 
seated, ^^by taking up your conversation exactly at the 
point you dropped it at my entrance.” 

The colonel looked towards his comrades and ab- 
ruptly shook his head. 

"No; I don’t think that would do,” he said, bluntly; 
"you would hear no pleasant things.” 

have not come here to hear pleasant things, and 
I have heard so many unpleasant ones lately that my 
skin is growing thick.” 

"Oh, but we have not got only unpleasant things to 
say,” broke in one of the red-faced officers — the jovial 
looking one, the facings of whose uniform proclaimed 
him to be major in the regiment of his host. "Though 
we criticise your tactics, there is but one voice as to 
your valour. All Germany is in admiration of British 
national spirit and in consternation at British mili- 
tary naivete/^ 

"Are you sure you quite appreciate our difficulties ?” 

"I am sure, at any rate, that, until you found your- 
selves in the thick of them, you utterly failed to appre- 
ciate them yourselves.” 

It was the lieutenant-colonel alongside who was 
speaking now, in whom Millar subsequently learnt to 
know one of the stars of the Intelligence Department. 

"So far from being an excuse, the existence of those 
difficulties only aggravate the offence of that criminal 
ignorance — ^yes, the downright criminal ignorance, 
with which your Government has plunged into this 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


49 


war. Don’t say it came upon you unawares — ^that’s 
nonsense. You know, or you ought to have known, 
that, sooner or later, the day would arrive when you 
would have to wrestle with the Boers for the upper 
hand in South Africa. Why did you not prepare for 
that day?” and he looked with angry inquiry at 
Millar. 

^^How could we arm openly in times of peace?” 

^^The Boers managed to arm — not openly — but that 
is not my meaning. There are other sorts of prepa- 
rations. Do you know what I would have done if I 
had been the English Minister of War ? I should have 
said to the Parliament: ^Give me a hundred thou- 
sand pounds — or else don’t give them to me; but I 
warn you that each of these withheld thousands will 
cost you in time well nigh a million.’ And if they 
had given it me, this is what I would have done: I 
would have begun by taking to hand the map of the 
Transvaal and dividing the country into a hundred 
imaginary districts. Then I would have picked out 
a hundred trustworthy men, I would have put a thou- 
sand pounds into the hand of each, I would have 
shown him the map and have said : ^That is your dis- 
trict. To-morrow you start for the Transvaal, you 
live there in any way you like for a year ; at the end 
of that year I expect your report touching the entire 
situation in the area assigned to you — details of 
topography, means of communication, resources in 
men and horses, popular state of mind, etc., etc.’ In 
a year I should have had the hundred reports, and 
should have been as exhaustively informed regarding 
the Transvaal as I could possibly be regarding Lon- 


50 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


don or Manchester. With those reports in my pocket 
is it likely that I would have shocked the military 
world by the spectacle of this huge unreadiness ? How 
many of those costly mistakes do you think would 
have been avoided ? How many millions would those 
thousands have saved ? A great many, I can tell you.’^ 

And he glared at Millar as fiercely as though he 
held him responsible for all the shortcomings of 
British administration. 

^^May be, but those hundred men would have been 
hard to find in the English Army. That sort of work 
savours too much of the metier of spy to recommend 
itself to the British temperament.^^ 

^^Then you could have found them in ours. Why, 
there are not a hundred, but perhaps a thousand, of 
our young officers who would literally have jumped at 
the chance. A year in South Africa — and a yearns 
leave is always to be had — with a thousand pounds of 
good British gold in one’s pocket — what a precious 
experience ! What a break in the monotony of garri- 
son life ! We have long since given up indulging in 
the luxury of quixotic scruples touching the manner 
of collecting indispensable information ; the times are 
too hard for that, the military race too hot. Very 
fine sentiments they are, no doubt,” and the speaker 
gave a snort of unmistakable irritation; ^^but apt to 
come expensive both in money and in blood. No 
doubt you think it is a finer thing to rush into a con- 
flict with your head do^ra and the comfortable band- 
age of ignorance tied fast over your eyes.” 

He stopped short as abruptly as though he were in 
danger of choking. Into so visible a passion had the 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


51 


star of the Intelligence Department worked himself 
touching British density that Millar, marking the 
alarming hue of his complexion, wondered vaguely 
whether an apoplectic fit were not impending. 

^^Oh, it is a distressing spectacle that England pre- 
sents us with!’^ ejaculated the jovial major, shaking 
a sympathetic head. 

^^And what a job they might have made of it ^ 
sighed Colonel von Grunewalde. 

In the eagerness of the discussion which had again 
got under fiow Millar seemed to be forgotten, though 
he listened with strained attention, hanging his head 
a little as the criticisms fell thick and hard. But, 
though the words were severe, they were not malev- 
olent. Here, as he quickly perceived, the military 
question was everything, politics nothing. To these 
professional soldiers it was obviously a matter of in- 
difference why the English were fighting, all that 
interested them was to know whether they were fight- 
ing after accepted rules. 

It was a chance pause in the conversation which 
enabled him again to put in a word. 

^^And the remedy for this sad state of things he 
enquired, for the talk had now drifted to the organisa- 
tion of the English Army. 

^^There is only one remedy,^^ said the colonel, de- 
cisively. 

"Conscription ?” 

"Of course, conscription,^^ said the three officers 
almost in one breath. 

"That is my own conviction. I believe Lieutenant 
Pletze has told you of the mission I have set myself. 


62 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


I believe I shall die happy if I can persuade my coun- 
trymen to the great step.” 

^^Oh, is that the mission you have set yourself?” 
asked Hedwig, suddenly mixing in the conversation. 

She had been sitting a little apart until now, and 
Lieutenant Pletze had been standing by her side. 
There was a second chair close by, and, having glanced 
in that direction a few minutes ago, Millar had vague- 
ly wondered why the young officer had not sat down, 
since surely his height must make conversation diffi- 
cult. While talking to him Hedwig had been forced 
to raise her eyes continually to his face — ^^but she does 
not seem to mind that” — had been one of Millards 
passing reflections, on catching sight of those bright, 
upraised eyes. As for the lieutenant, his bearing 
showed an uneasy self-consciousness which Millar had 
not before observed in him; at this moment he did 
not look at all like the man who had waltzed with 
Thekla Eisner at the press ball. 

^^You want to make your nation into a nation of 
soldiers?” asked Hedwig, and with a movement of 
interest too frank to be forward, she changed her 
place to one nearer Millar. 

^Tt is the task I have set myself.” 

‘T hope you will succeed!” she said warmly. 
have seen nothing but English tourists, of course ; but 
I have often thought what magnificent soldiers they 
would make.” 

^^Herr Millar is sure to succeed,” observed Lieu- 
tenant Pletze, obviously glad of the escape into gen- 
eral conversation. ^^Suph ardour as his always suc- 
ceeds.” 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


63 


it does, it will be only after a desperate fight. 
You donT know my countrymen, nor what it means 
to lay a finger on their liberty 

^^You are not touching their liberty, you are, on the 
contrary, giving them a newer and the best sort of 
liberty : self-mastery.^^ 

^^And not self-mastery alone,^^ remarked the colonel, 
looking approvingly at his lieutenant — ^^you are teach- 
ing them order, punctuality, discipline, all qualities 
which will serve them in every station, in every occu- 
pation of life. The army does more for the minds of 
the people than all our schoolmasters together.^^ 

^^And for their bodies, too,^^ put in the major. 
^^Look at what our lower classes were before conscrip- 
tion was universal, and look at them now! How 
many inches have we not gained in height as well as 
in breadth, and how many ounces in muscle! For 
the physically degenerate no better cure than two 
years of drill, and what country has not its proportion 
of these 

^^We certainly have more than our proportion!^’ 
reflected Millar, before whose mental eye there seemed 
to pass a procession of the hundreds and thousands of 
pallid, weak-eyed, and weak-kneed individuals, with 
the sight of whom life in a manufacturing centre had 
made him painfully familiar. 

For the five minutes that followed he had nothing 
to do but to listen to a veritable panegyric of conscrip- 
tion, of which the advantages poured in upon him in 
gratifying but bewildering abundance. It was only 
when both the red-faced officers had talked themselves 
hoarse that they simultaneously paused, whereupon 


54 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


the company, obviously pleased with his intelligent 
attention, sat looking at Millar with unanimous ap- 
proval, which was most conspicuous upon Hedwig’s 
bright face. 

It was she who now took up the thread of the dis- 
cussion. 

^^Explain to me only this: the English love their 
country, do they not? How is it then that they are 
content to leave its defence to mere mercenaries, men 
who have nothing to lose but their life ? — ^who become 
soldiers only as a resource against misery ? How can 
you fail to grasp the fact that to give everything to 
your country, to whom you owe everything, is not only 
a duty but an honour, the highest honour to which any 
patriot can aspire 

She looked at him with the same enthusiasm shin- 
ing in her eyes that Millar had observed in the lieu- 
tenant’s during their first interview; then without 
waiting for his answer: — 

^^And do you not see that the consciousness of this 
honour cannot help having an ennobling influence on 
those who enjoy it ? Even we women are proud, — ^yes, 
I must confess that we are desperately proud — of 
being soldiers’ daughters or wives; we would rather 
be that than the daughters of the highest officials or 
the richest capitalists in the empire. We live a higher, 
nobler life than they do, for the capitalists live only 
for their money, and even officials are not always 
incorruptible — as we have seen lately” — she was I'e- 
ferring to the latest bureaucratic scandal, with which 
much reading of newspapers had made Millar familiar 
— ^^Vhile our fathers and brothers and husbands live 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


55 


only for their country. You must not be astonished 
therefore if we hold together so strongly, and even if 
we appear to look down a little upon the others.” 

^^But we do not really look down upon them all,” 
remarked Lieutenant Pletze, unexpectedly. ^^You 
must not give Herr Millar the impression that we are 
as conceited as all that. When we find congenial ele- 
ments among civilians we are not so absurdly exclu- 
sive as to stand aloof.” 

^^But it is not often that we find them,” retorted 
Hedwig, throwing him a glance of reproachful aston- 
ishment, her eyebrows drawn sharply aslant upon her 
ruffled forehead. 

^^Either I am a blind mule or else there exists some 
understanding — or misunderstanding — ^between these 
two,” refiected Millar, as he marked how Pletze red- 
dened almost guiltily under that look. Were there 
more complications than he had supposed in the 
d^ama whose opening he had witnessed in the ball- 
room? 

At that moment the jovial major burst out laugh- 
ing with a thoroughness which shook the basket chair. 

^^Who will deny now that we Germans are the best- 
natured people in the world — and the most simple- 
minded, too ? Here we are hard at work encouraging 
this young man to preach conscription to his country- 
men, while really we ought to be praying for the fail- 
ure of his mission. We see pretty clearly, do we not, 
that the average Englishman presents the best raw 
material, both physical and mental, for soldiers ; sup- 
posing it all were pressed into service, don’t we know 
in our hearts that 


56 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


^^England would become the arbiter of the world^s 
fate^^ — ^put in a new voice, coming from the doorway. 

^^Ah, General Eussel I” exclaimed Hedwig, turning 
in her chair. 

A tall, keen-eyed, bullet-headed old man in generals 
uniform, with a wiry grey moustache which had evi- 
dently once been yellow, had just entered the room. 

^^Eussel?^^ asked Millar, looking enquiringly at 
Hedwig. 

^^Yes; a compatriot of yours, though a comrade of 
ours. He is retired now, but he has served in our 
army for more than forty years. You could not have 
a better informant than he is, and it will be pleasant 
to speak your own language. Come, I will introduce 
you at once.” 


CHAPTER VI. 


^^The sight of a countryman in German uniform 
seems to astonish you/^ remarked General Russel to 
Millar, with his quiet yet keen smile, which wonder- 
fully matched his quiet yet keen gaze. 

The four other men had by this time sat down to a 
rubber of whist, and Hedwig had retired ; so that the 
two Englishmen, withdrawn into a corner of the large, 
bare apartment, and speaking their own language, 
were as good as alone. 

confess that it is a surprise to me — a most agree- 
able surprise.^^ 

Millar spoke with renewed animation. The dis- 
covery of a compatriot in the midst of this ocean of 
strangers was in itself unspeakably consoling, with- 
out reckoning the advantages of finding in him a 
German officer as well. 

^^Yet the seeming anomaly is easily explained. My 
wife was German. It was to please her that I settled 
here, but not alone to please her. It had always been 
my wish to be a soldier, but I was not rich enough to 
serve in the English Army; you know probably that 
we have arranged matters so practically that in order 
to be a soldier you have first to be a capitalist. It 
comes much cheaper to be a German soldier, therefore 
I became one/^ 


68 the blood-tax. 

^^And have you become a German as well as a Ger- 
man soldier 

General Eussel shook his smooth, bullet head. 

^^Xo; I have never lost touch with the old country, 
although I am not sure that I could ever feel com- 
pletely at home in her again. My profession has en- 
tered into my blood, you see, and here, even in retire- 
ment, I still live in the atmosphere I have been used 
to for forty years. I am alone now in the world, and 
to a soldier the movement of an army, even in peace, 
is the only real movement. Xow over there the army 
does not move, it generally slumbers. Besides, it is 
not as easy as you imagine to uproot yourself at sixty, 
even if the soil to which you contemplate transplant- 
ing yourself is your original native soil. But you 
need not look at me so disapprovingly,^^ and the gen- 
eral smiled again sharply under his yellow-grey mous- 
tache; doubt whether I am a worse patriot than 
you are yourself ; I can assure you, at least, that my 
eyes are fixed on South Africa quite as anxiously as 
your own can be, just as for years past they have been 
turned expectantly towards the English War Office.” 

Millar heaved an impatient sigh. 

have been hearing dreadful things within the 
last ten minutes, and not about the War Office alone. 
Tell me, are we really in so bad a predicament as they 
pretend? I know, of course, that the situation is 
pretty serious, but these men speak as though we stood 
on the verge of a national catastrophe.” 

General Eussel, leaning with crossed arms in the 
window embrasure into which the two Englishmen 
had withdrawn, turned his face away from Millar’s 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


59 


and for several seconds stared out into the street with 
eyebrows drawn deep down over his light green eyes. 
The penetration of those eyes, as well as the leanness 
of the neck issuing from the golden neckband, gave 
to his appearance something of the keenness of a bird 
of prey. 

^Tf you are speaking of the momentary situation in 
the Transvaal, he observed after a moment — ^^then 
I think you need not listen too closely to their sinister 
prognostications; they see our blunders, but they do 
not quite appreciate the stuff we are made of. I have 
always felt that our national temper remains a sealed 
book to even intelligent foreigners. Do you know 
that after Buller’s first failure to cross the Tugela 
there were plenty of German officers who half ex- 
pected Lord Salisbury to telegraph on the spot to 
Kaiser Wilhelm, with the humble request for his good 
services, in getting us out of the scrape we had got 
ourselves into? No; you need not listen to them 
there; I have not any serious doubts that we shall 
manage to muddle through, after our time-honoured 
habit, in the most expensive and roundabout fashion, 
of course, but coming out all right at the other end. 
But if you are speaking of the military and political 
situation as a whole, then I do not think that my 
comrades can have painted it much blacker than it 
actually is. Why, don^t you see^’ — and, jerking his 
head back from the contemplation of the street, he 
fixed Millar with his green, hawk-eyes — ^^donH you see 
that we are living in a sort of trance, paralysed by 
the spell of a situation which has long ceased to exist ? 
Bluff is an excellent thing in its way, but unfortu- 


60 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


nately its days are over. Nowadays people are too 
fond of examining and analysing, to accept any situ- 
ation blindly. Because hitherto we have ruled a quar- 
ter of the globe with a handful of soldiers we think 
that we can go on doing so, and never notice how, 
beside the constantly growing armies of our neigh- 
bours, that handful melts and melts by comparison 
until it almost ceases to count. Take the situation in 
India. To us — (when I say ^us^ I am speaking as a 
German officer, — you must excuse me if I appear to 
you to be a somewhat dual personage) — the serenity 
of British self-confidence appears almost appalling. 
Because less than a hundred thousand white soldiers 
have hitherto succeeded in preserving nearly three 
hundred millions of subjects to the British Crown, 
it seems scarcely to occur to the average Eng- 
lishman that they may not always suffice to do so. 
Eussia’s hungry gaze, her slow but deadly-sure move- 
ments, whose meaning is so obvious to every Conti- 
nental politician, do not succeed in ruffling English 
self-confidence — ^not because we are prepared to fight 
with her for India, but because we prefer to believe 
that she will never fight. Do you suppose that there 
are a hundred Englishmen within Great Britain who 
realise that at this moment we are preserved from 
what would probably be a huge catastrophe by the per- 
sonal goodwill of the Czar, or perhaps only by his 
philosophy? It is no secret, surely, that now, while 
I speak, two hundred thousand Eussian soldiers are 
standing on the frontiers of Afghanistan; let Nico- 
las II. but raise his little finger, and I fancy that we 
shall find our hands fuller than we have bargained 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


61 


for. The secret of that gigantic Kussian patience 
which says to itself : All Asia is a ripe apple which, 
when the right moment arrives, will drop into my 
lap, as surely as the ripe fruit drops to the earth — 
why hurry what will infallibly come?^ — ^this secret 
seems open to all the world, except to England alone. 
With the mantle of national self-complacency wrapped 
tightly around us, with the veil of flattering delusions 
floating before our eyes, we move — ^with an uncon- 
sciousness which appals our friends, yet delights our 
enemies — through the ranks of nations armed to the 
teeth, and turning eyes of envy and of hatred upon us. 
It is a maddening spectacle, I can tell you, — a mad- 
dening spectacle V’ 

^To the English patriot, or to the German offlcer ?” 
asked Millar, marking how the so carefully guarded 
quiet of the face before him was beginning to be 
pierced by symptoms of agitation. 

^^To both ; for if it is painful to the Englishman to 
witness so dangerous a blindness, such a spectacle of 
military helplessness must infallibly irritate every real 
soldier.^^ 

^And our fleet asked Millar, somewhat angrily 
moved, in the face of what struck him as over-severe 
criticism, to stand up for principles which in his heart 
he condemned. ^^Do you give it no place at all in 
your review of the situation ? Does not its existence 
alone justify a good part of our self-confldence ?” 

^Tt explains it at least ; but as for justiflcation, I 
can only return to what I said before : we are living 
in the belief of a situation which no longer exists. 
Once we could have slept safely without a soldier in 


62 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


the land and with only our ships as ramparts — nowa- 
days no longer, — not because they are less mighty, but 
because they are no longer the only ones, or the only 
ones that count. We are still the mistress of the seas, 
but we can no longer play its despot, or we shall be 
able to play its despot again only when it has been 
proved that no combination of foreign navies — and 
I presume that you admit such a combination to be 
no far-fetched idea — can succeed against us. Until 
then, we would do well not to sleep too soundly behind 
our floating ramparts.^^ 

^Terhaps not; yet I cannot admit the situation to 
be quite as dark as you paint it. In all this, are you 
not overlooking the element of quality? Or perhaps 
you have become too much of a German to be able to 
appreciate our national advantages?’^ And Millar 
looked at his countryman well nigh vindictively. 
^^Do you doubt that each one of our soldiers can do for 
two foreign ones?” 

think, on the contrary, that he would probably 
do for three or four. I hope it is no national preju- 
dice which lets me see in the Englishman the ideal 
soldier, the best, the highest flghting animal in the 
world, not only physically but morally, for if we have 
the defects.of our qualities we have also got the quali- 
ties of our defects ; and although pig-headedness may 
be disastrous in certain circumstances, it is undoubt- 
edly in its place on a battle-field. The world knows 
this so well that the remark which Major Greiffingen 
was making as I entered scarcely covers the facts. It 
would be truer to say that each time England has 
pushed from her the question of conscription, after 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


63 


looking it in the face, all Europe has unconsciously 
heaved a sigh of relief. Xo, no, it is not the quality 
that needs raising, it is the quantity. I know that 
quantity just now is under an eclipse. Boer suc- 
cesses seem to push its importance into the back- 
ground ; yet despite the shadow of the ^new^ warfare 
floating in the air, I remain of the old-fashioned opin- 
ion that, even with the highest quality attainable, one 
to two is a bad proportion, that one to ten is madness, 
and one to twenty suicide; yet it is in these propor- 
tions, or something like these, that we propose to stand 
up to the world. Tell me, have you ever clearly read 
the naked language of plain flgures ? Are you aware 
that the entire British Army, as it stands at this 
moment, represents barely three German Corps, and 
without anything approaching to the perfection of 
organisation which makes of each of these corps an 
instrument always ready to strike ? And we have 
twenty-three of these instruments ; even Austria, who 
possesses less than the flftieth part of the land-surface 
covered by Great Britain, has fifteen of them, as ready 
and as efficient as our own. France has twenty-seven ; 
while Eussia, although she contents herself with 
thirty-five, might have almost as many more as she 
wanted. Do you know that to place each corps in 
the field, equipped down to the last man and to the 
smallest detail of transport and provision, requires 
at most ten days, and one signature ? Do yon realise 
that while in Germany, and with the army on a war 
footing, one soldier represents eleven inhabitants, 
while in Eussia he stands for sixteen, and in Austria 
only for eight, in Great Britain he stands, even after 


64 the BLOOD-TAX. 

the last resources have been drawn upon, for five hun- 
dred and nine ? 

And in face of these figures there are would-be 
authorities among you who actually propose to melt 
down the army yet further ; who advocate the ^picked 
men’ system; who see salvation only in the improve- 
ment of quality. In colonial warfare, of course, qual- 
ity goes before quantity, but can an empire such as 
ours be allowed to rest upon the mere vague hope of 
avoiding every European entanglement ? Can we go on 
playing the masters of the world, with the conscious- 
ness that we are not fit to stand up to a civilised army? 
There is only one way to guard against that day, 
and that is, to prepare for it. And if that day comes, 
it is not national qualities, it is numbers and organi- 
sation and arms that will fall heaviest in the balance. 
Probably you have no concise ideas as to the destruc- 
tiveness of our modern weapons. The time-honoured 
figure about the bullet-rain has been turned into a 
fearful truth by modern warfare. The most perfect 
soldier will go down under it as readily as the rawest 
recruit — one of them is as welcome ^cannon-food’ as 
the other. Do you know that one single company of 
even only half-trained German infantry, consisting 
of not quite two hundred men, is capable of firing 
forty thousand shots in about ten minutes, and with 
a carrying distance of nearly four thousand paces? 
How do you want your picked soldier to bring out his 
picked qualities in the face of such an argument as 
that? Granted that he is a lion, and that the Ger- 
man infantry consists of nothing nobler than wolves, 
what can one lion do against two hundred wolves ? 

^^And in spite of these unanswerable figures, the 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


65 


voice of the warner is cried down as the voice of an 
alarmist, and even military authorities are to be found 
who do not shrink from flattering the popular mind 
by strengthening it in its belief that we are invulner- 
able ; why ? because we have been preserved hitherto ; 
because we have not measured ourselves with a Euro- 
pean army for fifty years ; but, above all, because we 
are English and all the rest are mere wretched for- 
eigners; because we are too big to fall, forsooth, as 
if our very bigness were not the chief danger, just as 
the huger the colossus the more easily will it gravitate 
earthwards, if the feet it stands on be feet of clay. As 
yet no one has dared to give the necessary push, be- 
cause the colossus looked so big and so alarming ; but 
let them but discover the flaw in our basis — as those 
few thousand Transvaal peasants have half-discovered 
already — and shall we be safe for a day ? Not if those 
soothers, those flatterers of national vanity, are 
allowed to keep the upper hand. A curse upon them 
all ! They and their honey-tongues are worse enemies 
to their country than any Boer or Eussian could 
ever be.^^ 

He stopped short in undisguised agitation, and for 
a moment the two Englishmen looked at each other, 
wide-eyed and startled, as though moved by a common 
fear. Millar, listening with all his might, was be- 
ginning to feel hot and cold, and almost giddy, from 
the mere sound of the figures that in such rapid suc- 
cession had been, so to say, hurled at his head. 

Our present unhappy predicament proves some- 
thing of what you say,^^ he observed at last, after a 
moment of deep depression. 


66 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


Unhappy predicament ! Is that what you call it ? 
I call it the greatest good fortune that has come to u9 
for centuries. If we had walked into the Transvaal 
as easily as we expected to, the chances are that we 
would have walked out of something else in no very 
remote future. Xo lighter warning than this could 
have got the better of the pig-headedness of John Bull, 
nor could have succeeded in shaking him up, and 

Converting him to conscription suggested 
Millar. 

Conscription 

The accent in which General Eussel repeated the 
word was so peculiar that Millar looked at him en- 
quiringly. 

^^Yes; after all that you have told me I cannot 
doubt that you think as I do,^^ and with eager haste 
the young man unburdened his mind to his country- 
man. While he spoke the smooth bullet-head nodded 
once or twice, as though in approval, but when he had 
finished, the General fixed him in the eyes and said, 
with evident sympathy, and with all his quiet re- 
turned, — 

Give up your idea. You will not succeed; and if 
you did succeed you would be conferring a very doubt- 
ful benefit upon the country to which you are so truly 
attached.^^ 

Millar, staring in consternation, could not imme- 
diately find a reply. 

But you are a German officer,^’ he stammered at 
last, ^^and I thought 

^^That all German officers judge this point alike? 
As a rule they do ; yet a few of us are given to personal 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 67 

observations : my own are not favourable to the ^blood- 
tax/ 

^^Then you will not help me?^^ asked Millar, in 
reproachful disappointment. 

I cannot do so conscientiously.^^ 

You mean to say that if you had the power in 
Germany 

would revoke conscription? Xo, I would not. 
Conscription, as it here exists, seems to me an evil, but 
I acknowledge it to be a necessary evil for Germany, 
as well as for most Continental countries. England 
is almost the only land whose geographical position 
and national temper seem to offer an escape from the 
universal burden — mind, I do not say more than that 
the escape seems to be there — why not, therefore, 
profit by this circumstance 

^^But where are the evils you speak of? I have 
heard nothing but good of the system — that is, from 
reasonable people. Trade scarcely appears to suf- 
fer 

It does not suffer ; but there are other considera- 
tions.^^ 

The sacredness of the individual ? Are you among 
those who see a slavery in the recognition of a national 
duty self-imposed by a free people ?^^ 

am not. The possible modifications in trade 
and a small sacrifice of individual liberty would be a 
light price to pay for the safety of the empire; but 
these are not the only results of turning a nation into 
a nation of soldiers.’^ 

You are afraid that we should become too blood- 
thirsty?^’ 


68 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


Xot in the least. Have not great wars ceased, or 
at least paused, since the creation of great armies?” 

^^Then what can possibly be your objection?” 

It would take too long to make that quite clear. 
My objection is a double one. Conscription, you see, 
is too wide and deep a measure, it touches national 
life too intimately not to act widely and deeply upon 
it. It is unavoidable that every subject within the 
empire should, so to say, adopt his attitude in the 
question. Broadly speaking he has the choice of two 
attitudes opposite to the army; either he identifies 
himself with it, or he does not. In so far as he iden- 
tifies himself with it he inclines to approve and ad- 
mire, often excessively, every action and every aspect 
of the army, and the result is that ^militarism,^ whose 
very name has so evil an odour in British nostrils. 
The consciousness that every other class depends upon 
this one class for its very existence, that life and prop- 
erty can feel safe only in the shadow of the soldier’s 
sword, tends to create that arrogance on one side, that 
too deferential attitude on the other, of which you will 
see plenty of examples, if you look about you,” (^T 
have seen them already,” reluctantly admitted Millar 
within his own mind) — ^^and this arrogance is fed 
by another consciousness; of all the classes of the 
empire the military class is the only one that does not, 
that cannot, gain money, in the common acceptation 
of the word, that is not exposed to the temptation of 
growing rich, that has not even got the possibility of 
staining its hands with that golden filth which sticks 
to so many civilian fingers. In these days of wide- 
spread corruption, of the licensed robbery of the stock 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


69 


exchange, of the vulgarities of trade competition, 
this enforced spotlessness unavoidably produces an 
exaggerated self-satisfaction, an instinctive looking 
down upon other perhaps equally honest classes, from 
whom no such high standard is required. These two 
consciousnesses together it is that have erected that 
social tyranny which the uniform undoubtedly exer- 
cises in Germany, where it would scarcely be an ex- 
aggeration to modify the well-known phrase about 
^Man beginning at the Baron,^ into ^Man beginning at 
the Lieutenant.^ And now think of England, and 
imagine the effects of this sort of tyranny upon Eng- 
lish society, — and the tyranny would infallibly arise, 
since it belongs to the very body and soul of mili- 
tarism.^^ 

And those Germans who do not identify them- 
selves with the army?’^ 

^^Are its deadliest enemies, as our ever-growing 
socialist and anarchist groups prove ; and not its ene- 
mies alone, but the enemies of the whole social struc- 
ture of which the army is the result. That empire 
within the empire which the uniform creates is sur- 
rounded by inimical forces. The personal burden 
may be made as light as is feasible, the effects upon 
trade minimised to a vanishing point, but the ^blood- 
tax^ will always provide the right point for focussing 
all the discontent which is loose in every laud, and 
will always furnish the cri de guerre necessary for 
stirring the masses. We have no anarchists to speak 
of in England so far, but give them only a tangible 
and, above all, a showy grievance and they will crop 
up like mushrooms.^^ 


70 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


This time Millar’s thoughts went straight to Gustav 
Hort and to his wild theories, and once more he felt 
silenced, though far from convinced. 

What then ?” he enquired somewhat irritably, 
after a pause during which the declarations at the 
whist-table were the only words spoken in the room. 

You have just proved to me that our army is far 
too small, and now you are attempting to prove to 
me that the only certain way of adequately increasing 
it would be a national misfortune, — what then? I 
suppose you do not mean to say that the colossus has 
got to fall ?” 

The quiet smile came back to the face of the Gen- 
eral as he laid his hand on the shoulder of the young 
man. 

The colossus will stand so long as the world 
stands, if it so chooses, but it must stand on other 
feet.’’ 

And these would consist of ? I can scarcely con- 
clude that you are one of those people who think that 
by holding out more bribes in shape of pay and good 
food, and adding a few more hundred thousand sol- 
diers to our army, we should be coming up to the 
duties of our position.” 

I am not one of those people.” 

But then 

You are wondering whether I have got a substi- 
tute for conscription in my pocket, are you not? Well, 
I believe that such a substitute exists. But the sub- 
ject is somewhat too large to be tackled at the tail-end 
of a conversation. I see that our friends have finished 
their rubber. We shall speak of this again.” 


CHAPTER VII. 


he is not right, he cannot be right/^ said 
Millar to himself as he stepped out again into the 
street. So deeply was he lost in reflection that it 
required Lieutenant Pletze^s voice by his side to re- 
mind him that he was not alone. 

You were satisfled with your visit the Lieu- 
tenant asked twice over before Millar became aware 
of his presence. 

Very satisfied, and very grateful to you for hav- 
ing procured me such interesting acquaintances.’^ 
Pletze looked frankly pleased, but at the same time 
a little preoccupied. 

It has been a great pleasure to me to render you 
this service,” he murmured, and seemed on the point 
of saying more, yet checked himself. 

It was only a minute later, while Millar was won- 
dering why his companion stuck so obstinately to his 
side, that, with a touch almost of embarrassment, he 
added : — 

I suppose you have few other acquaintances as yet 
at Mannstadt?” 

Scarcely any except my employer’s.” 

Ah, yes ; I was presented to Herr Eisner at the 
press ball. He seems to be a very agreeable person. 
I should have no objections to continuing the ac- 
quaintance. Can you perhaps tell me at what hour 


72 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


I should be likely to find Frau Eisner at home? Do 
you not find that she is a decidedly fine woman 

Decidedly/^ agreed Millar, whose moustache was 
fortunately thick enough to hide the smile which irre- 
sistibly rose (was it the agreeable father or the ^^fine’^ 
mother who was the magnet here?) : ^^and as for find- 
ing her at home, you will be quite safe if you go on 
Monday between four and six, since that is Frau 
ElsneFs jour/' 

Between four and six?^^ joyfully repeated Pletze. 

Thanks a thousand times. And now I am afraid I 
must leave you. You will find your way, will you 
notr^ 

I donT see how I could refuse him the informa- 
tion,” refiected Millar, as he watched the martial 
figure shouldering its way through the crowd. ^^One 
service demands another, after all.” 

But nevertheless a vision of Gustav HorFs gloomy 
face brought with it that particular sneaking qualm 
of conscience which assails us when we feel guilty of 
even the smallest act of treachery. 

By next day the qualm had been sufficiently 
submerged by curiosity to let him discover that he 
could easily spare an hour for Frau ElsneFs jour. 
He felt it would be a pity to miss even one scene of 
the drama at whose opening he had assisted. Of what 
he was going to witness that afternoon he had no 
serious doubt; the only question being whether he 
would be in time to assist at the Lieutenant’s entry. 

And he was in time. He knew it the moment he 
had swept his eyes round the large, luxurious apart- 
ment, in which the richness of the stuffs which cov- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


73 


ered the extremely solid sofas and chairs vied with 
the brocades and satins worn by the female portion 
of the visitors. Ample figures^ florid countenances, 
unimpeachable frock coats, as many diamond shirt 
pins as boutons were to be seen on all sides, but the 
expected uniform — not yet. 

I do not see why I should not make hay while the 
sun shines, or rather before he begins to shine,^^ was 
Millar’s reflection, as having paid his respects to Frau 
Eisner, who was radiantly dispensing coffee and cakes 
— the manufacturer’s wife never looked so happy as 
when she was feeding the hungry — he made his way 
to Thekla’s side. 

Clad in a pale grey, tight-fltting cloth gown, the 
goddess was only one degree less dazzling than she had 
been at the ball; less dazzling but not less beautiful, 
as Millar — noting how triumphantly her complexion 
bore the daylight, and how much bluer her eyes looked 
here than under the electric lamps — told himself. On 
nearer view there was yet another difference in them ; 
for at the ball they had struck him as eminently calm, 
too calm almost for his personal taste, while now a 
faint unquiet was to be read in their enhanced bril- 
liancy, and in the frequency with which they moved 
towards the door. 

Which of the two is she waiting for, I wonder ?” 
Millar asked himself, and then, piqued ever so slightly 
by the blankness of the gaze which met his, added 
with a touch of ill-humour : Anyway, it is not me !” 

Nor was it any among the cloud of rubicund youths 
who hovered around with various devices for attract- 
ing her attention, — of this he felt immediately con- 


74 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


vinced. Despite their somewhat inconvenient pres- 
ence, Millar was determined to make the most of the 
few minutes which presumably remained to him, in 
order to find out all that there was to be found out 
about this regal yet childlike creature who so strongly 
piqued his curiosity. ^^Has she a heart or not? Is 
she playing fast and loose with both of these men, or 
only with one ? And if so, with which ?’’ Such were 
the questions at work in his enquiring mind, as he 
boldly pushed a chair to her side. 

The inevitable question came first. 

You have quite recovered from the fatigues of the 
ball, I trust 

Quite,^^ said Thekla. The disappointment quickly 
vanished from her eyes. ^^When I amuse myself I 
never feel tired.^^ 

And you amused yourself splendidly, of course ; 
anyone could see that.” 

Could they, really ?” she asked, with naive con- 
cern. I do hope I did not look too ridiculously 
happy?” 

You looked happy, but not ridiculous.” 

I canT help it, you see. I have been to so few 
balls as yet, and this one was so beautiful ; such good 
music ; such a good floor 

Surely you might add, ^such good dancers !’ ” 
suggested one of the bystanding youths, with an in- 
sinuating simper. 

Oh yes, some of the dancers were very good, but 
not all ! There were even some who danced badly.” 

she is no coquette,” thought Millar, as he 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


75 


marked the perfect unconsciousness of the eyes that 
turned upon the speaker. 

^^Be merciful and specify/^ sighed another by- 
stander, ^^else each one of us will be mentally beating 
his breast and seeing in himself the condemned 
dancer.^^ 

But I don^t condemn anybody/^ said Thekla, ob- 
viously distressed ; and with the evident desire to be 
as conscientious as possible, she added: ^Trobably it 
was my own fault when I did not get on well. I ought 
to have accommodated my step to that of my dancer, 
I suppose.^^ 

Then you will not specify 

^^Xo, no, I cannot. Do you dance very much in 
England ?” she asked, turning to Millar, as though to 
a refuge from a passage of arms to which she did not 
feel equal. 

Yes ; but we do our dancing in summer instead of 
in winter.^^ 

^^Do you, really? Is it not too hot then? How 
different everything must seem to you here ! Do you 
not feel terribly lonely and far away?” 

She was looking at him with that same sympathetic 
interest, that same kindliness of smile which he had 
seen on Frau Eisner’s face when she had been so 
anxious to know whether he had had enough to eat 
on the journey. It was exactly that gentle, almost 
motherly interest, with only the added charm of 
youthful shyness to make it irresistible. 

Anyway Hort has not fallen into the hands of a 
cold-blooded siren,” was Millar’s comment this time. 
^^She may not love him, but she will certainly not 


76 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


illtreat him, and until the other one comes I shall 
not feel clear as to whether she does not love him, 
after all.^^ 

Thekla,^^ Frau ElsneFs voice was heard just then; 

Frau Scholl is asking for some music. You might 
let us hear those songs you were practising the other 
day. She has begun to study Schumann^s Trauenliebe 
und Leben,^ added the beaming mother, turning to 
her neighbour. 

I donT think I know them well enough yet,” said 
Thekla, a little flurried. 

" Oh yes, you sang that flrst one beautifully last 
night. It is excellent practice for you to sing in 
company.” 

Dutifully, though evidently reluctantly, Thekla 
rose and went to the piano, where half a dozen volun- 
teers were already making nuisances of themselves by 
pushing about the stool, settling the music-stand, and 
wildly turning over the pile of songs which lay there. 

Xo, no, she accompanies herself,” said Frau 
Eisner, to a spectacled youth who had offered his 
services. 

Millar, out of sheer compassion for the girFs evi- 
dent flurry, had retained his place, from which, how- 
ever, he had a good and not too distant view of the 
singer’s face. The rose colour of confusion was still 
on her cheeks as she struck the first chords, in which 
Millar instantly recognised the accompaniment so 
diligently practised next door on the evening of his 
first visit. But even before the voice had had time to 
grow steady the flush was gone — faded to the pallor of 
a quite different emotion. 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


77 


'*Seit ich ihn gesehen, glaub^ ich blind zu sein, 

Wo ich hin nur blicke, seh^ ich ihn allein. 

Wieim wachen Traume schwebt sein Bild mir vor, 

Taucht aus tiefstem Dunkel, heller, heller, nur empor. 

“ Sonst ist licht und farblos alles urn mich her. 

Nach der Schwestern Spiele nicht begehr’ ich mehr; 

Mochte lieber weinen, still im Kammerlein, 

Seit ich ihn gesehen glaub’ ich blind zu sein.’* * 

Thekla^s voice was a fine mezzo-soprano, not by any 
means fully developed, but charged already with that 
abundance, almost superabundance, of sentiment, in 
which so many German natures seem to be steeped. 

But for the obvious abstraction of the singer this 
naive display of feeling would probably have struck 
Millar as almost indecent under the circumstances; 
but long before she had got to the end of the song, 
Thekla was evidently singing for herself alone, as the 
quiver of the fresh mouth, the far-off look in the blue 
eyes clearly betrayed. 

Xo doubt at all about her having been struck 
blind,^^ mused Millar; ^^but did the event occur at 
the press ball or before? That is the question that 
wants settling. (Where is that man sticking, I won- 


* Since I have seen him 1 think I am blind, 

Wherever I look 1 see but him. 

As in a waking dream his image floats before me, 
Rises from darkest shadows, clearer and ever clearer. 

All else around me has neither colour nor light, 

The sisters’ play has no more charm for me; 

Rather would 1 weep alone in my room ; 

Since 1 have seen him 1 think 1 am blind. 


78 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


der!) Is she thinking of black eyes or of blue eyes 
when her own grow so veiled 

The next one ! The next one V’ clamoured the 
group by the piano. There is nothing like hearing 
them one ofter the other.^^ 

Thekla turned round quickly just then, for the 
door had again opened, — only another rubicund 
youth. 

But I only know three as jet/^ she said, a little 
dejectedly. 

Then let us have those three, at least.^^ 

This one is much more difficult,^’ pleaded Thekla ; 
but her eyes were already lighting up to the sound of 
the so gloriously rapid chords. In what looked like a 
sudden ecstasy of feeling the triumphant notes poured 
over her lips : — 

** Er, der Hcrrlichste von Allen, wic so milde, wie so gut! 

Holde Lippen, Wares Auge, heller Sinn und fester Muth! 

So wie dort in blauer Tiefe, hell und herrlich jener Stem, 

Also Er an meinem Himmcl, hell und herrlich, hehr und fern.’’* 

^^Yes, that’s all very well, but which of the two, 
which of the two is the distant, adored star ?” Millar 
was putting the question to himself, when, at the con- 
clusion of the song, Thekla raised her shining eyes to 
the mirror straight opposite. What she saw there 


* He, the most splendid of all, so good, so mild ! 

Glowing lips, clear eyes, high mind and strong courage ! 

As up there in azure depths, clear and splendid, yonder star, 

Thus he stands upon my heaven, clear and splendid, high and far. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


79 


chased the flush of animation suddenly from her 
cheek, to bring it back as suddenly and in tenfold 
force, for just within the doorway — having entered 
unperceived under cover of the vivacious music — ^Lieu- 
tenant Pletze was standing. 

It is this one, then,^^ said Millar to himself, hav- 
ing turned that way. 

The appearance of the lieutenant, whose existence 
the bulk of the company discovered only now, had not 
taken effect on Thekla alone. A universal flurry in 
which mingled an element of astonishment had de- 
scended upon the rubicund youths as well as upon the 
brocaded ladies, betraying itself in an agitated rus- 
tling of silks and a general straightening of figures. 
As Frau Eisner, broadly smiling, advanced towards 
her latest guest, more than one questioning gaze was 
exchanged behind her ample back. Not even the 
proverbial eagle in the dove-cote could easily have 
produced more sensation than did the dragoon uni- 
form in this room full of civilians. 

Thekla, still beautifully blushing, had risen nerv- 
ously from the piano. 

The third song pleaded the spectacled youth. 

We have not had the third song yet 

But she waved him impatiently aside. 

I cannot sing any more. Xo, I cannot sing any 
more to-day,’^ she said, with a decision so unusual that 
it silenced all objections. 

A few minutes later the lieutenant was enjoying 
the nearest approach to a tete-d-tete afforded by the 
circumstances, and after having saved all necessary 
appearances by a collective introduction to all the 


80 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


other ladies present, as well as by the exchange of a 
complete set of phrases with Herr Eisner, to whom 
his better half had sent a hurried message in his busi- 
ness room. To Millar’s observant eye there were not 
wanting significant details about the attitude of the 
company, in especial about that of the jeunesse doree, 
who, drawn together as though for mutual comfort, 
alarmed and even a little awe-struck, watched from a 
distance the development of an interview which they 
burned to interrupt, yet dared not; while the gold- 
rimmed eyeglasses of their mothers and sisters were 
turned again and again surreptitiously towards that 
fascinating uniform, which, to more than one woman 
present, appeared to decorate the room far more suc- 
cessfully than even the gobelins on the walls. And 
all the time the decorous father struggled vainly to 
appear decently indifferent, and the happy mother did 
not struggle at all, but beamed largely upon every one 
that approached. 

^^That settles the question about the ^distant, adored 
star.’ Xot so very distant, either, it would seem,” 
thought Millar in his corner ; ^^and yet it seems to me 
more than likely that when I first heard her practis- 
ing those songs it was the other one she had in her 
mind’s eye. Oh, frailty — and inconstancy too — thy 
name is most decidedly Woman ! Would it be a char- 
ily, I wonder, to let Hort know that his game is up ?’’ 


CHAPTEE VIII. 


Come with me and I will show yon something/’ 
said Hort to Millar, one bitter March day, about six 
weeks after the press ball. 

The two young men had been on the point of part- 
ing at the gate of the manufactory, and in some sur- 
prise, Millar acquiesced in what had apparently been 
an after-thought. It was long since the engineer had 
made to him an invitation of any sort, or had even 
appeared to notice his existence out of work hours. 
Dating from the momentous evening, on which, for a 
brief space, he had appeared in a different and unex- 
pectedly amiable light, Hort had retired abruptly into 
himself, including Millar in the bitterly misan- 
thropical mood which was adding every day to the 
gloom of his black eyes. Yet, despite the gruff an- 
swers he nowadays got to his questions, despite this 
apparently complete withdrawal of confidence, Millar 
felt far more compassion than vexation; for by this 
time Lieutenant Pletze’s open courtship of Thekla 
Eisner was an established social fact; and, in what 
to the uninitiated might look like deliberate churlish- 
ness, it was not hard for him to discern the tortures 
of a real passion. 

"Very well, I will come with you,” he said, not 
particularly curious as to what he was going to see^ 
but anxious to appear obliging, and not sorry for this 


82 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


opportunity of seeing more of his strange fellow- 
worker, who would not be a fellow-worker for much 
longer, since the fitting up of the new machinery was 
approaching its completion. 

Without further explanation Hort pulled his collar 
up to his ears and began to lead the way, not towards 
his own lodging but in an opposite direction. It was 
blowing and sleeting together, what the Germans 
characterise as the genuine "dog-weather,^^ and yet the 
streets, far from being deserted, appeared to be rather 
fuller than usual, and the more so the further they 
advanced. Groups of noisy individuals, often walk- 
ing arm in arm, obstructed the pavement and seemed 
to be pouring in as well as out of every public house 
on the way. They were all young, as Millar vaguely 
observed, and many of them wore peasant dress. 

On turning the corner of a large square at some 
distance from the centre of the town, Millar could not 
forbear uttering an exclamation. The groups which 
had pushed against him in the street had been but a 
foreshadowing of this mixed mob of men, which over- 
flowed the square, standing thickest around a grey 
stone building, over whose entrance throned the Im- 
perial German eagle, and who, if they were not talk- 
ing or laughing, smoking or quarrelling, stood in 
morose silence, their eyes fixed on the grey building, 
as though they were awaiting their doom. Peasant 
coats were visible here too among the city dweller^s 
attire, or more often beside it ; for, despite the agita- 
tion running through the majority, the crowd appeared 
to be strictly sorted, after some principle which was 
clearest, no doubt, to the policemen and gendarmes 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


83 


circling around the groups, with alert gestures and 
watchful eyes, much after the fashion that a sheep 
dog circles around the herd of sheep which he has 
successfully hunted into a corner. 

What is it asked Millar, puzzled. fair 

Yes, a fair ; but you will not guess of what.^^ 

They donH seem to have anything to sell.” 

Oh, yes ; they have ; Their limbs and their 
muscles, their youth and their strength. This is the 
great human flesh-market, where more business is 
done than on the gayest market-places, only that the 
seller here gets no payment for his wares.” 

^^They are recruiting?” asked Millar, deeply in- 
terested. 

Yes. It is here the blood-tax is collected. Look 
at our future soldiers a little more closely, and tell me 
how much you discover of that enthusiasm for active 
service with which, I believe, you are generous enough 
to credit our nation.” 

They don^t look very downcast, at any rate,” said 
Millar, as a hilarious individual — ^with hat cocked 
over one ear — ^lurched against his arm. 

That is not the merit of their patriotism, but of 
the alcohol they have been imbibing to steady their 
nerves. These are golden days for every tavern- 
keeper in Mannstadt, for it is an accepted axiom that 
a recruit has got to be noisy, else, don’t you see? he 
might be suspected of cowardice. And since nine out 
of ten of them are feeling far more like tears than 
laughter, with the shadow of all sorts of partings upon 
them, the poor fellows have no other resource but the 
brandy-shop, beer alone will not suffice for this occa- 


84 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


sion. Besides, who would miss so good a pretext for 
a bout ? Those who are not retained drink out of sheer 
delight at their escape, and those who are retained 
drown their preoccupations in spirits. To-night at 
least one-tenth of the town will be drunk, while the 
country roads for miles around will be made hideous 
by the long-drawn, falsely joyous yells of recruits re- 
turning home for their last six months of freedom. 
^Galgenhumor' is what we call this mood in German, 
and as much related to patriotism as I am to you. If 
you doubt what I say, look at the sober ones 

Millar looked and began to make discoveries; for 
although there were plenty of flushed cheeks and loud 
voices among the groups, there were also pale faces 
and closed lips. Beside the erect heads there were 
bent ones, beside the artiflcially shining eyes there 
were some that were red with tears recently wept, and 
haggard with anxiety. 

^^They are leaving their mothers, their fathers, 
their sweethearts; exchanging the flelds they have 
been used to all their lives for a barrack-yard. How 
do you want them to feel tender towards the country 
that demands the sacrifice ? Must not even the least 
cultured among them feel deeply degraded by this 
driving together of men, after the fashion that cattle 
are driven together; this brutal taxation of merely 
physical qualities? And this is what you wish to 
bring your countrymen to ! This travesty of an orien- 
tal slave-market ! And here you see only the outside ; 
if you could penetrate into the inside of that grey 
house you would be able far better to appreciate the 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


85 


horrors of the process; but I have no acquaintances 
in there where the uniform reigns supreme, so I can- 
not take you in.^^ 

But I can/^ said someone close behind Millar, who 
turned to find General Eussel at his elbow. 

^^You, General ! What a surprise ! What can you 
be doing here 

^^What you yourself are doing — taking a look at 
the recruits. It is a sight I have not missed for years ; 
it keeps me in touch with my soldiering days, and is 
the best way I know of assuring myself that the qual- 
ity of the army is safe — the physical quality, I mean. 
But if you want to see what your friend there calls 
the ^horrors of the process’ come along with me.” 

Let me introduce him,” said Millar, but he per- 
ceived in the same moment that Hort had already dis- 
appeared, scared away, no doubt, by the sight of a 
uniform. 

^^And do you too call them ^horrors’?” he asked, 
following his guide through the crowd which fell back 
respectfully before the General’s coat. 

Whatever they are they belong to conscription as 
inseparably as does the bark to the tree. You shall 
see for yourself, and perhaps you possess imagination 
enough to apply what you have seen to — other coun- 
tries.” 

From out of the wide entrance of the grey building 
men were passing in small detachments, some with 
exultant, some with downcast faces, occasionally oc- 
cupied in buttoning their coats and settling their 
neckbands, or shouting back an answer to some excited 
question addressed to them out of the crowd. The 


86 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


long, stone-paved passage into which they turned was 
likewise alive with men of all degrees, of whom a 
large proportion was still hastily completing its toilet, 
after the fashion of people who have Just come out of 
a bath. A word from the General to one of the police- 
men on duty here suffered to open the door of the 
space in which the recruiting commission was at work. 

The first thing that Millar experienced on entering 
at the heels of his guide was an overpowering atmos- 
phere of condensed humanity; for, although the room 
was large, it was crowded, and had been crowded since 
morning, while, in obedience to the wishes of the gov- 
ernment official — who suffered from rheumatism — 
the windows remained hermetically closed. Round a 
deal table at the upper end of the room the commis- 
sion sat grouped, a mixture of military and of civilian 
uniforms, the place of honour being occupied by the 
infantry Major who presided. A Captain in the same 
uniform sat beside him, and two other officers of the 
Landwehr (home defence), as General Russel ex- 
plained to Millar, occupied the other side of the table. 
The government representative, a resigned-looking old 
gentleman whose idee fixe was evidently draughts, and 
who glanced behind him nervously each time the door 
was opened, obviously had some difficulty in keeping 
up his interest in the proceedings, while two doctors, 
one in civilian attire the other in uniform, were hard 
at work upon the human material before them. The 
rest of the space was filled with men, most of whom 
were either dressing or undressing, and out of the 
crowd of which every few minutes an individual 
stepped, in answer to a name read off a list. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


87 


As Millar entered, a black-haired young man, stark 
naked, was standing in front of the table, breathing 
deeply and audibly, in obedience to the order of the 
military doctor whose ear was just then pressed to 
his ribs. 

Pit he proclaimed briefly, as he raised his head, 
and, after a short discussion at the table, the black- 
haired young man disappeared in the crowd. 

^^Paul Eothling!^^ called out the secretary of the 
commission. 

This time it was a golden-haired cherub of a lad, 
who, blissfully unconscious of his unclothed state, 
stepped up smiling before the commission. Even the 
eyes of the deeply bored government official passed 
with a certain approbation over the youthful limbs 
that were as smooth and as delicate as those of a girl. 

Is this Paul Kothling asked the president, look- 
ing towards an elderly individual in a rusty frock 
coat; whose business as burgomaster of the commu- 
nity at present under examination was to identify the 
individuals. 

^^It is Paul Eothling,^^ attested the burgomaster, 
with a profound inclination towards the table. 

Very slender looking,^^ objected the civilian 
doctor. 

But sound,^^ added his military colleague, loth to 
let even so small a fish as this escape his net. 

I donT believe he has the regulation measure.^^ 

^^That we shall see immediately. Put yourself 
against that post, Paul Eothling.^^ 

Two centimetres short,^^ he proclaimed ruefully in 


88 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


the next moment, while a grin of delight spread over 
the cheruVs face at the news of the happy release. 

You are free for the present, but mind you grow 
decently before next year !” and the disappointed doc- 
tor gave a half-reproving slap to the boy’s bare 
shoulder. 

A capital weight he would have been for the 
cavalry,” regretfully sighed a member of the com- 
mission. 

The next in turn was a bloodless-looking youth, 
whose teeth were chattering, despite the atmosphere 
of the room, deadly shy, and evidently deadly ashamed 
of his Adamite costume. At the mere sight of him 
Millar felt a pang of something like fellow-feeling, 
for even without his clothes to give the conventional 
clue, the look in his brown eyes was enough to pro- 
claim him as belonging to the comparatively cultured 
classes. On the commission, however, and in especial 
on the jocularly inclined military doctor, the sight of 
his confusion seemed to have a distinctly humorous 
effect. 

Xo reason for shyness !” he proclaimed, with an- 
other of his resounding slaps. Xo ladies here, you 
know; and we’ve, all of us seen plenty of your make 
before.” 

The examination, conducted amidst the burning 
blushes of the victim, merged into a dispute between 
the two doctors. 

Xot fit, according to my opinion,” said the civil- 
ian, decisively. His chest is not affected, but there 
is every chance of its becoming so after a year of bar- 
rack life.” 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


89 


Quite as much chance of his outgrowing the 
tendency. Lots of men owe their health to military 
training.^^ 

Those who survive it, you mean/^ mumbled the 
other between his teeth. 

But it was the milftary doctor whose opinion was 
decisive, so the result of a few moments’ consultation 
was that Josef Windner was proclaimed although 
assigned to the Landwehr, as belonging to the third 
quality of recruiting material, of which the cavalry 
and artillery got in general the first choice, and the 
infantry the second. 

And now get back quickly into your shirt for fear 
of the ladies,” said the jocular doctor, in high good hu- 
mour at his victory. 

As Josef Windner turned in nervous haste, Millar 
could just catch the look of mingled fear and anguish 
in the gentle brown eyes. Who knows what that 
lightly spoken word ^^fit” meant for him? 

A magnificent young peasant followed. About 
fitness there would be no difference of opinion here, 
only as to the troop to which to assign him. This 
time it was the infantry, and the LandweJir Majors, 
who seemed inclined to wrangle over him, each anx- 
ious to secure so satisfactory an individual for his 
especial branch of service. 

Too big for the cavalry, but it would be a sin not 
to put him into a line regiment,” declared the presi- 
dent. Why, he is a born grenadier !” 

But since you are not short of material, why not 
give us the benefit ?” 

A magnificent specimen,” proclaimed the doctor, 


90 


THE ELOOD-TAX. 


complacently passing the flat of his hand over the 
peasant's back and thighs, giving an approving pinch 
here and there to some especially conspicuous muscle. 

It was the infantry that finally secured the prize, 
as it secured many more among those who, during the 
hour that followed, filed past the table, to the monoto- 
nous repetition of that indifferently spoken ^^fiV^ or 
^^unfit,” which settled so many fates, not only for two 
years to come, but often for a lifetime. When, at the 
end of that hour. General Kussel said to Millar: 
^‘Have you had enough of it it was very emphatic- 
ally that Millar answered : — 

Yes, quite enough. It is just a trifle too like a 
cattle-market for my taste.” 

Once out upon the square, he did not speak imme- 
diately, principally because he was feeling irritated, 
against whom or against what he could not exactly 
have said ; perhaps against both Hort and the General 
for having showed him all this, perhaps against the 
entire recruiting commission, whose doings had un- 
doubtedly taken a good deal of bloom off his ideal of 
a national army. 

^^And yet there is no other way,” he angrily re- 
flected, and in the next moment started, for his com- 
panion was quietly remarking, — 

This way will not do for us, but I believe there is 
another one.” Had he spoken aloud? 

" I know that you have a plan, but you have never 
explained it to me.” 

Of course I have a plan. In a period when every 
second journalist has got an army reform plan in his 
pocket, I hope I am not so hopelessly unfashionable 


THE BLOOD -TAX* 


91 


as not to have tried my hand at the game! I live 
close at hand: if yon will accompany me down the 
next street we can continue the conversation we began 
in January. It should have been continued before, 
if I had not been laid up.^^ 

It was an attack of influenza, which, to Millar’s 
disappointment, had kept the General invisible ever 
since their first meeting. 

And your plan ?” asked Millar, scarcely seated in 
General Eussel’s small but comfortable smoking- 
room, and too impatient to waste time. But I warn 
you in advance that I don’t believe in it.” 

^^My plan, which is not by any means my plan 
alone, is a form of that same compulsory military 
training which you must have seen advocated in more 
than one English paper.” 

I have seen it, but I have never been able quite to 
grasp their idea.” 

cannot answer for their ideas, of course, but 
according to mine, our whole school plan would have 
to be re-created in such a fashion that every boy born 
within the British empire acquires, with the same 
undeviating certainty that he acquires reading, writ- 
ing and arithmetic, the first indispensable elements of 
a soldier’s training — ^physical as well as mental, but 
principally physical; and of course, exactly propor- 
tioned to his class of life and degree of culture. As 
a logical result of this reform in education, every boy, 
on leaving school, would possess at least the rudi- 
mentary qualities for either a soldier of the rank and 
file, an under-officer, or an officer, according to the 
class of school he has attended.” 


92 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


^^And what is he to do with these rudimentary 
qualifications unless he be compelled to put them at 
the disposal of his country? And the moment he is 
compelled we have reached conscription/^ 

He will be compelled, but only in the contingency 
of his services being required, which, in nine cases out 
of ten, they would not be. In ordinary times he 
would scarcely remark that he is a soldier, for the 
amount of training which, according to my opinion, 
would be required to keep him efficient, cannot be said 
appreciably to interfere with his life. I calculate 
that three rounds of three or four weeks’ training in 
ten years ought perfectly to suffice. It is the peace 
service of a large army that falls so heavily upon a 
nation; it is from that that springs that most objec- 
tionable militarism which we want, at all costs, to 
avoid ; it is its irksomeness, its costliness, its apparent 
uselessness, which breed all the evils attaching to Con- 
tinental conscription. In the moment that the war 
fever seizes the land the small grievances disappear. 
According to my idea, our army, in time of peace, 
would be nothing but a skeleton army, the framework 
of which must, of course, consist of perfectly trained 
soldiers; volunteers who have bound themselves to at 
least ten years’ service, and the ranks of which would, 
at the given moment, be filled up by the nation, of 
which each single unit has imbibed military prin- 
ciples together with its A B C.” 

And you mean seriously to tell me that such em- 
bryo soldiers as these would even count in warfare ?” 

I mean to tell you more than this — ^that in certain 
cases (provided only that they are physically fit) they 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


93 


would be of more value than the peace soldier of Con- 
tinental armies, whom a monotonous garrison life has 
reduced to a species of automaton, in whom patriotism 
has been blunted by a sense of compulsion. My future 
British soldier, as I picture him, comes indeed rather 
raw to his work, but also fresh ; stimulated by the ex- 
citement which the prospect of immediate action 
awakes in the breast of every Englishman who is not 
a craven, and with the consciousness of a great na- 
tional need upon him. What he lacks in training he 
will make up for in spirit, and in numbers. I cannot 
help returning to this much-disputed point. Small 
armies are just now in high favour among us — ^theo- 
retically, they are more mobile than big ones, we are 
told, and therefore must be more effective. A mere 
juggling with words; for a big army can be divided 
into as many small armies as you like, and each one 
be trained to double about with the agility of a grey- 
hound; but nothing can swell the small army into a 
big one if the numbers be not there. You cannot do 
away with the advantage of physical preponderance, 
the vulgar weight of vulgar numbers. And despite 
all the discoveries we are making in the Transvaal, 
despite the collapse of close formation and the apothe- 
osis of the entrenchment, I am firmly convinced that 
this will remain as true of the wars of the future as it 
has been of those of the past. So long as men^s quar- 
rels have been, the man with the thick stick in his 
hand has always had a pull over the man with the 
thin one, and not all the smokeless powder in the 
world will alter the fact that twenty rifie-shots are 
likely to do more work than one. 


94 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


Perhaps you have not forgotten what I told you 
of the efficiency of our infantry rifles ; this will partly 
explain to you why nowadays there are voices raised 
among us — voices of far weightier authority than I 
pretend to be — who maintain that we take too much 
trouble and spend too much money in teaching our 
soldiers to shoot ; who insist that it is the number of 
shots fired, and not a shade of better or worse shoot- 
ing in the individual soldier, which will be decisive. 
Let him but know how to handle his rifle with con- 
fidence, and he is a useful soldier already, provided 
he has enough comrades. Numbers ! There you have 
it again! I know I am preaching what ranks just 
now as heresy! I know that at this moment half 
England has run away with the opposite idea. The 
marksmanship of the Boers has gone to most heads, 
and the present ambition of every patriot is to turn 
himself into the nearest possible copy of a Wilhelm 
Tell. And, mind you, this course is advocated by the 
very people who tell us that in the war of the future 
we shall mostly be firing at an invisible enemy — proof 
enough of the utter bewilderment of the prophets’ 
minds. It is the old story of drawing general con- 
clusions from concrete cases. This war is a war of 
marksmanship ; of lurking among boulders, and pick- 
ing out conspicuous enemies ; but nothing proves that 
in the next war we shall again be lurking behind 
boulders, and not rather marching across open plains 
to meet an overpowering enemy. Organise rifle clubs, 
by all means; they can only do good, they may in 
certain cases do incalculable good; but do not think 
that they alone will save the Empire, for when it 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


95 


comes to a struggle with a European foe, their bullet- 
rain will sweep away whole regiments of marksmen; 
and the vital question will be whether there are others 
to take their place — Wilhelm Tells or no Wilhelm 
Tells — small matter! Let there only be enough of 
them, and we are safe. 

And about there being enough and far more than 
enough, there surely can be no doubt to anyone who 
takes the trouble to consider a few plain figures. Can 
an empire of close upon five hundred millions of sub- 
jects be embarrassed where to take an army from? 
Even supposing that only every fortieth subject of the 
British Empire were called upon to serve in war time 
— a proportion which is far less exacting than that fol- 
lowed by the rest of Europe — Great Britain would be 
able to create an army of more than eleven million of 
men. But as, of course, nothing like this number, nor 
the half of this number, nor even the quarter, would be 
required, it follows that the widest concessions could 
be made to private and family circumstances, and that 
nothing but the physically flawless, the very pick of 
the nation, would be called into action — a circum- 
stance which alone gives us an immense advantage 
over Continental countries.^^ 

If I could feel sure that these physically flawless 
individuals deserved the name of soldiers ” 

If I, a soldier of the most exacting army in the 
world, tell you that they do, ought you not at least to 
look at the idea a little more closely ? It is years now 
since, slowly but surely, the conviction has been creep- 
ing into military minds, that most of our peace work 
is useless, or at least superfluous. The two years’ 


96 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


service is an outcome of this tendency ; but it will not 
stop there. If I was sure of living another twenty- 
five years I would gladly wager with you that by that 
time not only one, but all Continental armies, will 
have come down to one year.” 

Then why not propose the one year service to the 
English, and frankly adopt conscription ? Who could 
call the burden heavy then?” 

Just the same people who call it heavy now, for 
the stigma would remain, the sense of visible com- 
pulsion without the visible necessity. You may call 
my plan conscription in disguise, but it has this ad- 
vantage over conscription that, by escaping the per- 
nicious peace service, it steers clear of the most sus- 
ceptible points in the English national character. To 
my mind it is quite clear that England, sooner or 
later, will have to acquiesce in at least this modified 
form of conscription; the great question is only 
whether she will do so before a national disaster or 
after it — that is with it or without.” 

^^And the details of your plan? I seem to see 
countless difficulties ahead.” 

So do I ; but most difficulties can be met. Some 
day, when I feel in the right mood, I shall put down 
my ideas on paper; rough ideas they are as yet, and 
doubtless very imperfect, but who knows whether they 
may not succeed in converting you !” 

Perhaps,” said Millar, with a sudden access of 
reserve. ^^There is much in what you say, but there 
is not enough for me. Our recent successes in South 
Africa have comforted me as regards the present, but 
they do not reassure me as to the future. I give you 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


97 


fair warning that I am not yet converted from the 
idea I brought over with me.^^ 

You still consider that, for the sake of conscrip- 
tion in the European form, the evils of militarism 
should be tolerated 

I am not sufficiently convinced of its evils.^^ 
^^How much longer do you stay in this country?’^ 
"About ten months.^^ 

The General smiled quietly, playing with his cigar. 
" TJse your eyes well during these ten months, and 
your ears, too. Perhaps at the end of that time you 
will be better convinced than you are now.^^ 


CHAPTER IX. 


An unblinking June sun was beating down upon 
the railway embankment, at the foot of which some 
thirty men squatted on the grass, devouring their 
hard-earned midday meal, while the engineer super- 
intending the job now in hand sat likewise on the 
grass, reading something out of the newspaper he 
held in his hand, and occasionally interrupting his 
reading to exchange some comment with the men 
closest at hand. 

The grass still preserved its first tender green, soon 
to be dimmed by the dust and stained by the smoke of 
the engines which would pass this way, and the haw- 
thorn blossoms still lingered in the hedges, but Gustav 
Hort — for it was he — had eyes for nothing but the 
printed letters on the page. 

It was some weeks now since, having terminated his 
engagement to Herr Eisner, he had been at work upon 
this new line — one of the many local ones that were 
beginning to radiate in all directions from the pros- 
perous Mannstadt. With a mixture of intense relief 
and intense regret he had turned his back upon the 
manufactory, and with it, upon all further connection 
with the Eisner family. Thekla being lost to him — 
and he knew now that she was lost — the Eisners be- 
came again what, for a brief space they had ceased to 
be to him — the detested capitalists, whose mere title 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


99 


of possession spelled robbery. He had, for a moment, 
nursed a wild hope which he now recognised as wild ; 
and, hastily dropping it, returned to his former men- 
tal occupations. Most likely he was not himself 
aware of the deepened bitterness, the intensified con- 
victions, with which he returned. He had always be- 
lieved that the world was falsely ordered, but never 
before had he believed it with such a rage of certainty 
as now; he had always hated those elements which he 
held in first line responsible for this false order, but 
the hatred had not tortured him as it now did, to the 
point of robbing him of his appetite and sleep. 

Gustav Hort might almost be said to have imbibed 
his views of life together with his mother’s milk. The 
son of a philanthropically inclined doctor, who had 
spent his health and his strength, as well as all the 
money he had ever possessed, labouring among the 
poor of Berlin, Gustav had, from his earliest child- 
hood, heard speak, continually and persistently, of 
the miseries of the lower classes. In the family circle, 
at the family dinner table, at morning and at night, 
it had been the common theme of conversation. The 
items of news which the doctor— fanatically attached 
to his work — brought home of any particularly poign- 
ant cases he had come across, were almost the only 
news from the outer world that reached the small, 
retired household. Here Gustav heard of children of 
his own age afflicted with indigestion by the sawdust 
which they had mixed with their food, in the hope of 
stilling the never-ceasing craving of an empty stom- 
ach; of women rising within the same hour of their 
confinement for fear of losing even one day’s wages. 


100 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


and with it the dinner for the morrow. He got to 
know by heart the names of the diseases that are con- 
tracted by the workers in the india-rubber, the copper, 
the paper trades, and became an adept in calculating 
the proportion of needlewomen who yearly succumb 
to the strain of turning the wheel of a sewing-machine 
during eighteen hours out of the twenty-four. His 
mother’s sympathetic interest, occasionally her tears 
of compassion, served only to drive those images 
deeper into his extremely sensitive imagination. 
Was it a wonder if he grew up with a burning resent- 
ment against those classes which, as it seemed to him, 
took all the good things of the world to themselves 
and left to those outcasts only the bad ones ? 

In this resentment his own personal sense of griev- 
ance began by playing a merely subordinate part, 
since, the son of a generously unselfish father, he pos- 
sessed in his heart a deep well of this same generosity, 
which at that time had not yet been dimmed by the 
struggles of life. That same noble sense of fellow- 
feeling which had made of the little, hard-worked 
doctor, one of the unrecognised apostles of the world, 
moved in the young man’s heart, yet with different 
results. For where the father had been content re- 
signedly to attest the presence of the evil, the more 
wide-awake and restless spirit of the son began to look 
about wildly for a remedy. His father had never ac- 
cused, he had only lamented, and remedied whatever 
came near enough to him to be remedied, and his 
mother had only wept. But Gustav felt that he could 
not rest until he had fastened the guilt of this mon- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


101 


strous wrong on someone or sometTiing. He had no 
talent for resignation. 

Adolescence put him at the turning point of his life. 
At that moment nothing but an immense pity filled 
his hearty so immense and so full of yearning towards 
the unfortunate portion of mankind that it seemed a 
mere toss-up whether he would become a priest or a 
revolutionary. It was his surroundings which de- 
cided for the revolutionary. By his father^s wish he 
had entered on technical studies, and the socialistic 
elements with which University life brought him in 
contact, soon threw his vaguely rebellious thoughts 
into their own mould. Once caught by the current, 
there was no turning back, and so little did he strug- 
gle against it that before, the close of his studies he 
had attracted the attention, not only of his especial 
clique of fellow-students, but — what was more incon- 
venient — of that of the police, whose paternally watch- 
ful eyes seldom fail to mark any fresh danger to the 
institutions of the Fatherland. 

Then, just as the hazy yet fierce ideas that floated 
in his brain were beginning to mature there came the 
inevitable call to arms — ^to those useless arms of peace 
whose necessity appeals to so few men. There was no 
escape, of course, from that one year’s service — the 
privileged abridgment which his University studies 
had earned him ; but, light though the burden might 
appear to other eyes, it clashed too directly with his 
half-formed theories of life not to intensify tenfold 
his sense of rebellion. 

The experiences of that one year had done what was 
still required finally to fix his hatred of society, a 


102 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


hatred which had sprung from a charity gone wild. 
The paternally watchful police had, of course, not 
failed to pass on to the military authorities their sus- 
picions regarding the political opinions of this new 
recruit, with the consequence that, from the very first 
day he found himself in uniform, the ex-student was 
made to feel not only that his own hand was against 
every man’s, but also that every man’s hand was 
against his. Though he knew it not he had entered 
the ranks with a mark against his name, and at every 
turn was conscious of mistrustful glances, of an ill- 
concealed grudge. It was at this period that purely 
personal considerations began to overshadow his spe- 
cial form of philanthropy. The anger which he felt 
against society in general began to turn itself more 
especially upon the uniformed portion of it, in first 
line upon the fat, tipsy, but painfully efficient ser- 
geant, under whose direct orders he was placed, and 
who seemed to take a special and detailed delight in 
professionally torturing this superior looking indi- 
vidual, presuming to consider himself his superior in 
education. Merely by belonging to his class he awoke 
the sergeant’s soldierly wrath. Had not enough of 
his sort passed through those thickset, but efficient, 
hands, and generally with that same supercilious look 
upon their faces? It was a category of person in 
whose superior book-learning and whose inferior drill 
the sergeant instinctively recognised an hereditary 
enemy to his race. This one was even worse than the 
others, at least in the opinion of Sergeant Blum, 
whose habit it was yearly to select a victim among this 
lot of privileged individuals, let off far too easy — as 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


103 


he considered — and who, merely on the strength of 
this privilege, were bound to be hateful to his honest 
soldier^s soul. This particular year resolved itself 
into an obstinate though tacit mental duel between 
Hort and this support of the army ; the one burning 
with the loyal desire of catching this evidently dis- 
loyal subject in the smallest act of insubordination, 
the other quite aware of this ambition, and, although 
consumed inwardly by a rage that often bleached his 
cheek and shook his strong hand, as firmly determined 
not to give him the satisfaction aspired to. The in- 
genuity of Sergeant Blum in inventing humiliating 
remarks and devising galling commands might awake 
the wonder of the company and the admiration of his 
colleagues, but, whatever might be passing inwardly, 
outwardly Hort did not flinch. ^^Auch dieses wird 
vorubergehenr (This also will pass) was the 
formula he had adopted wherewith to fortify his soul 
in moments that would otherwise have appeared un- 
endurable. 

Yet the year was not to end without Sergeant Blum 
having his desire. 

It wanted but two months to its completion when a 
small incident — scarcely the shadow of an incident — 
afforded the very slight pretext which was all that was 
required. 

One morning on parade the opportunity came. 
Hort, ready before the hour, had been stealing a few 
minutes with his favourite Eousseau, a small volume 
of whose essays he had kept by him as a solace in his 
present trials. The order to form ranks had surprised 
him so suddenly that there was no time to secrete his 


104 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


treasure anywhere but inside the breast of his uniform, 
where he trusted that its slight bulk would escape 
detection. But alas for anyone who pinned his hopes 
on anything being overlooked by Sergeant Blum^s 
eyes ! Bloodshot though they were, they were as effi- 
cient as the rest of his person. In his very first turn 
down the ranks he stood still before Hort. 

And that button he exploded, pointing with a 
short finger at one which Hort in his haste had omit- 
ted to close. You imagine you are in your dressing- 
gown, I suppose, instead of the Emperor’s uniform? 
Ha ! Shut it this instant !” 

With teeth tightly ground together Hort obeyed. 
But the sergeant’s eye had made another discovery — 
that of a suspicious looking bulge on the left side of 
the coat. 

What’s that? A lump under your uniform! 
Lumps are against the regulations. A packet it looks 
like. Letters from his lady-love, I suppose,” and he 
looked round jocularly at a bystanding corporal, who 
dutifully tittered. ^^Hand it out on the spot !” 

Hort stood immovable, not having consciously 
formed the resolve of not obeying, but simply because 
to obey appeared to him this time almost impossible. 

^^Ah, you won’t, will you? Then I’ll fetch it 
myself !” 

Without knowing it Hort made a movement of in- 
stinctive resistance, then, with the swift recollection 
of his moral helplessness, became rigid once more, 
while only a spasm passed over his set face as the 
sergeant, tearing open his uniform, thrust his fat 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


105 


hand into its recesses to bring it out triumphantly 
with Eousseau in its greasy clasp. 

A book !” he uttered^ with a mixture of contempt 
and disappointment^ which in a calmer moment might 
have struck Hort himself as comical. But he was not 
calm now, though he stood so still, with his hands by 
his sides and his eyes fixed hard upon his superior^s 
face, exactly as the regulation required. Perhaps the 
sergeant himself read something like murder in those 
eyes, for, during a moment, he stood as though thun- 
derstruck; but only for a moment. In the next he 
was himself again, more than himself, for he had 
stumbled upon the opportunity which he had been 
looking for for ten months. 

Thaf s it, is it he roared exultingly. ^^Books 
during parade hours ! As though all the book-learning 
in the world would ever teach you how to shoulder a 
gun ! You canT live without your books for an hour, 
canT you? 1^11 teach you to live without them and 
without a good many other things too, for forty-eight 
hours and more, if I can make it ! You wouldn’t hand 
out that book, wouldn’t you? You wouldn’t obey 
orders ! It had to be taken from you, well-nigh by 
force. I’m going to the captain. High time indeed 
that you should make acquaintance with our beau- 
tiful lock-up! A pity really, it would have been, if 
you had left us without knowing how pleasantly a 
day or two can be passed in there !” 

What version reached the captain’s ears Hort was, 
of course, not in a position to ascertain; perhaps no 
very ^^cooked” version was required to convince the 
authorities that the article marked ^^dangerous” was 


106 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


at length showing signs of breaking out. Be that as 
it may, the fact remained that Hort, being convicted 
of grave insubordination, spent the next forty-eight 
hours in a small cellar-like locality, just sufficiently 
lighted to let him distinguish the bare board which 
figured as bed. Here, in the solitude of a stuffy cell, 
with an empty stomach — since fasting formed part of 
the punishment — and with nothing to keep him com- 
pany but fiies by daytime and rats by night, he had 
ample leisure to reflect to his heart’s content upon 
the arrangements of the world. Perhaps it was the 
fault of the empty stomach that these reflections were 
not very coherent, and yet the result was coherent 
enough ; for it was during these forty-eight hours that 
his rage against society in general assumed its ulti- 
mate shape. When he left that cell, it was with all 
the hatred within him finally concentrated, and hav- 
ing, so to say, found its focussing point. 

Free of the uniform, he carried the distaste of it 
back to his ordinary life. Everything that even dis- 
tantly savoured of the barrack-yard was enough to 
turn his mental stomach. The very slovenliness with 
which he carried his fine figure was a sort of uncon- 
scious protest against that hateful drill, so unwillingly 
undergone, so gladly forgotten. 

Hort had been earning his bread painfully for some 
two years when Fate led him to the door of Herr 
Eisner’s manufactory, and, by the same process, to 
the feet of Thekla Eisner. He had taken little ac- 
count of women until now, and for this very reason 
threw himself into this new passion with the whole 
vehemence of a nature which, living on impulses. 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


107 


counts no costs. She belonged to the rich ones of the 
earth, and therefore ought to have been a natural 
enemy, but from the first moment that her royal 
beauty had dawned upon him — that mixture of maj- 
esty and of freshness — she had been to him nothing 
but herself. It was not the capitalist’s daughter that 
he saw in her, but the realisation of his dream of 
womanhood. 

When he found his mental balance again, suffi- 
ciently to take account of the gulf which yawned be- 
tween them, socially as well as financially, it was not 
to feel immediate discouragement. Audacity was in 
his blood, and conscious of being the manufacturer’s 
superior in education — the only thing that counted in 
his eyes — ^he could see no reason to despair of winning 
his daughter. And her money? That indeed must 
remain a stumbling-block to a man of his principles, 
unless it could be turned into a stepping-stone. When 
contemplating the possibility of his marriage, Hort 
had always done so with the latent resolve in his mind 
of telling Thekla’s parents openly and without dis- 
guise, that whatever money they chose to give to their 
daughter would be employed in the service of the 
socialist cause, with which he was beginning to get 
into closer touch. This would probably lead to their 
withholding their money altogether. Well then, he 
would do without it. If the girl loved him she would, 
of course, be ready to sacrifice her fortune for his 
sake; in this simple light, at least, did the matter 
appear to Hort’s (in some ways) curiously unsophis- 
ticated mind. If the girl loved him — yes, upon that 
turned everything. There had been a period in which 


108 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


the hope that she did appeared to be neither unreason- 
able nor over sanguine. During the earlier stages of 
their acquaintance, there had been moments in which 
it was difficult to doubt that Thekla^s distinctly in- 
flammable imagination had been permanently caught 
by the fearless bearing, the ardent gaze of this strange 
acquaintance, who was so unlike the usual habitues of 
her mother’s drawing room, — even by his rebellious 
words, and the half-uttered hints which dimly opened 
to her vistas of a life whose existence she had, in her 
comfortable home, never suspected. A mind fresh 
from the nursery is easily harrowed by the account of 
any sort of suffering, if ably portrayed; and if Herr 
Eisner could have followed every word of the conver- 
sations which at this time took place between his 
daughter and the young engineer, whom Frau Eisner’s 
rash hospitality began by seating all too frequently at 
the family board, it is probable that what remained 
of his highly decorous hair would have stood straight 
on end. Socialistic ideas insinuated into the mind 
of a daughter of his ! And, if it had been the mind 
alone, but there were not lacking symptoms that the 
heart itself was affected. Well was it for the manu- 
facturer’s peace of mind that he remained in igno- 
rance of various small incidents of this period. 
Thekla herself, thinking of it later, was aghast at her 
own imprudence; though, thank Heaven, she had 
stopped short of the crowning imprudence of a bind- 
ing word. 

It was at the moment when Hort was beginning to 
hope for that word that the press ball took place, 
bringing with it the death-blow to his dreams. They 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


109 


died no lingering death; rather they expired com- 
pletely in an instant, and almost without a struggle. 
He did not even doubt the sincerity of the interest 
which Thekla had taken in him, but he understood 
that a newer and greater interest had succeeded. Her 
enthusiastically inclined mind had succumbed before 
the uniform, as it had just escaped succumbing before 
the faith into which he had begun to initiate her. It 
was not against her that he felt most incensed — for 
her he could still find excuses ; but it was against the 
man in uniform who had dazzled her young eyes. 

The uniform ! Again the uniform ! At every turn 
of his life it confronted him inimically. It had 
played him many an evil turn before now; was it to 
rob him of his happiness as well as of his self-respect ? 

In grim silence he withdrew 'from a contest which 
his quick eye recognised at first sight as unequal ; but 
the grudge within his heart only struck deeper, more 
ineradicable, more clinging roots. If he had not 
loathed the very name of the army already, he would 
have loathed it now for the sake of one man in it. 
The personal element had by this time entirely gained 
the upper hand of the selfiess considerations of former 
days. Although he might not himself know what put 
the new sting into the words which he had grown 
accustomed to sow, somewhat at random, among the 
men with whom his work brought him into daily con- 
tact, and without any more immediate object in view 
than that of relieving his overburdened feelings, yet 
at moments the sharpness of that sting surprised him- 
self. A railway embankment in the open country, 
with no uncalled for listeners at hand, is a decidedly 


110 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


convenient place for making remarks of a sort not 
calculated to catch the fancy of a German policeman; 
and this circumstance, as well as the many willing 
ears to be found among his hearers, was chiefly re- 
sponsible for the sort of informal campaign here being 
conducted. For, whereas it is almost impossible now- 
adays to find a gang of Continental workmen, any- 
where in the neighbourhood of a big town, quite free 
of socialistic elements, this particular gang, owing 
perhaps to the presence of a few ready-tongued Ital- 
ians, was particularly rich in these ingredients. All 
of these men lived painfully from hand to mouth, 
most of them had some particular and personal griev- 
ance against Fate. What then could be more welcome 
than the opportunity of freely discussing these griev- 
ances, with the pleasant and unusual addition of the 
comments supplied by a cultured mind? The mere 
fact that this man of culture stooped to talk with 
them as equals had, by flattering these half-educated 
spirits, raised him to the position of an oracle. For 
weeks past it had now become the custom to enliven 
the midday pause by extracts read out of one of the 
newspapers which the engineer invariably carried in 
his pocket, and by the discussions that arose there- 
from. Sitting on the grass in their midst, with a 
circle of attentive eyes fixed upon him, Hort enjoyed 
at these times a curious and enticing sense of power — 
the almost alarming consciousness that all these minds 
were subject to his, that he could turn all these strug- 
gling thoughts into whatever channel he chose, could 
teach these primitive searchers after truth any lesson 
that he wanted them to learn. 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


Ill 


One lesson, in special, he could not grow tired of 
driving into their minds, consciously or unconsciously, 
directly or indirectly, in season and out of season. He 
was teaching it them again on this warm J une day on 
which a newspaper paragraph had met his eye, of such 
startling appropriateness that even a less biassed mind 
than his could scarcely have refrained from pointing 
the moral. This was the reason why the black of the 
printer’s ink quite blotted out for him the greenness 
of the summer landscape. 

The Xewest Sword Affair” was the heading which 
had infallibly arrested his attention. It was the ac- 
count of a street incident of a sort not very infrequent 
in the annals of every Continental army; common- 
place to the verge of vulgarity, yet entailing conse- 
quences of well-nigh tragical import. Nothing more 
than a chance meeting in the street between an officer 
and a couple of shopkeepers out on a Sunday spree, 
one of whom — ^possibly not perfectly sober — had 
brushed somewhat roughly against the officer’s arm; 
a sharp reprimand from the officer; a sharper retort 
from the shopkeeper; an insulting word fallen, even 
a stick raised threateningly by one of the shopkeepers 
— such, at least, was the military version — and finally 
the sword torn out of its scabbard and descending 
with such force upon the adversary’s head, that the 
unfortunate young man had sunk on to the pavement 
in what the newspaper paragraph described as ^^a 
bath of blood,” and that his life was at this moment 
still hanging in the balance. 

And this happens in times of peace,” commented 
Hort, the red of a sincere indignation mounting to 


112 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


his sun-tanned cheek ; ^^in full daylight, in a country 
which aspires to march at the head of civilisation 

But what was done to the officer enquired one 
of the youngest of the workmen, a bright-eyed, apple- 
cheeked youth, who was hungrily devouring his bit 
of sausage. ^Tf the man dies, will he be tried for 
murder ?” 

For murder ? Not a bit of it ! Nothing at all will 
happen to him if the man doesn’t die, and even if he 
does, the other will get off with a merely nominal 
punishment — perhaps a change to another garrison.” 

But why ? How can that be ?” enquired several 
voices together. ^Tf one of us killed a man he would 
certainly be hung.” 

Hort laughed harshly. ^^One of you? Yes. But 
you are not officers; you have no uniforms to your 
backs. Don’t you know yet that under cover of a blue 
coat quite a lot of things can be done with impunity 
which would be crimes if committed in a black one? 
This officer will say, of course, that he was acting in 
defence of his honour. His military superiors — the 
only ones on whom he really depends — will certainly 
be of his opinion. We shall be told once more that 
the honour of our army is so great a thing that no 
sacrifice is too great for it — not even that of a 
wretched human life here and there. For a few days 
the most courageous papers will talk indignantly of 
the matter, and then, when one of the numbers has 
been confiscated, they also will grow tame and hold 
their tongues, and things will go on just as they have 
gone on until now : that is to say, the unarmed por- 
tion of the jiation will continue to stand at the mercy 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


113 


of the armed portion ; that each one of ns, by merely 
walking out in the street with no more than a stick 
to defend ourselves with, runs the risk of being mur- 
dered in open daylight by an officer we may chance to 
meet, and who may chance not to like the way we look 
at him, or choose to feel insulted because we brush 
against his sleeve. Are not these incidents becoming 
daily more common? Has not every garrison town 
got its sword affair nowadays ? Does not armed bru- 
tality stalk our streets, and vulgar violence reign 
where culture is supposed to be daily advancing? 
Their arrogance grows instead of decreasing, and will 
go on growing 

Until the end comes,^^ completed one of the men 
who had not spoken yet. 

Several pairs of eyes turned towards him, Hort^s 
amongst others. He was not a German, as his broken 
accent, as well as his face, at once betrayed; a face 
that looked almost black beside the many fair ones 
around him; beetle-browed, and with that aggressive 
development of jaw which recalls so unpleasantly the 
animal element in human nature. Beyond the gen- 
erally accepted theory that Giacomo Alesta was a 
deserter from the Italian army and therefore cut off 
from his own country for ever, his comrades knew 
little about him. He himself never spoke of the rea- 
sons which had induced him to emigrate, but was 
given to drop hints regarding a ^^cause,^^ whose exact 
nature, if he revealed it at all, he revealed only to a 
few kindred souls. Prom the first Hort had recog- 
nised in him one of his most eager, though evidently 
critical, listeners, but if he took the attentive Italian 


114 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


for nothing beyond a listener he was much mistaken. 
On many an evening, work being closed, while the 
men were gathering up their tools and he himself 
was making his way to his lodging in the village hard 
by, he might have seen Giacomo Alesta taking up the 
role which he himself had played in the midday hour, 
haranguing his comrades with flashing eyes, and with 
glib tongue improving upon his own theme so liber- 
ally, that, had he been a listener, he might scarcely 
have recognised it as his own. Even without know- 
ing this he had found in this man a moral support, 
and was only a little astonished at not feeling more 
sympathy with this tacitly constituted adjutant. Per- 
haps it was that so brutally aggressive jaw which 
jarred upon his flner sensibilities, as it seemed to jar 
even upon those of his fellow-workers, who, although 
they liked to listen to his words, did not like the man 
himself, and perhaps would not have listened to him 
at all if it had not been that so many things he said 
coincided so well with what they had heard earlier in 
the day from the lips of their universal favourite, the 
engineer. 

^^But what sort of end can come?’^ asked one of 
them now, in answer to Alesta^s remark. We\e got 
to have an army, I suppose?’^ 

Have we sneered Alesta. ^^The army is there 
only to protect capitalists; when once there are no 
more capitalists then there need be no army.^^ 

That time will come, but we shall not see it,’^ said 
Hort, for even to him Alesta seemed to be going a 
little fast. 

But we can work towards it, can we not 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


115 


asked a few enquiring spirits. 

To begin with, by not submitting to the outrages 
which our armed compatriots put upon us/^ explained 
Hort. The more sword affairs get into the papers 
the better. It is not possible that in the end public 
indignation should not be roused to a point which will 
make it impossible to the government to remain pas- 
sive in this question. Have we not got our self- 
respect as well as they? And who can 'forbid us to 
protect it 

But not with walking-sticks,” commented Alesta. 

^^With what then?” 

With revolvers.” 

Hort moved uneasily. Eevolvers were things which 
did not belong to his private programme; the mere 
mention of them savoured too much of that physical 
violence which on principle, as well as from some 
paradoxical fastidiousness in his nature, he rejected. 
Yet to proclaim this in this moment would, to these 
naive minds, look like unsaying all that he had just 
said. It seemed easier to let the remark pass. 

^^The more we concede to the army, the more it 
will demand. Does it not already take away the two 
best years of our youth, and the health of thousands 
every year ?” 

And not only the two best years,” said a burly, 
yellow-bearded man, angrily sticking his clasp-knife 
into a chunk of cheese. Will I not have to throw 
up my work, and leave my wife and the five bairns to 
shift for themselves for a whole month this autumn, 
since I^m called in for the manoeuvres ?” 


116 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


'^And I too — and I too!’' came in several rueful 
voices. 

Does not a separate law seem to exist for them and 
for us^ Why, even the women bow before it^ do they 
not? Do you not all tremble for your sweethearts’ 
constancy when the soldiers are quartered in the 
village ?” 

He laughed again, that same jarring laugh, as he 
looked round the circle with shining eyes. 

I should like to see one of them come near my 
Mariedl 1” suddenly exclaimed the apple-cheeked 
youth, bringing down his fist with such vehemence 
that a pot of beer, toppling over, sent a brown stream 
over the grass, which caused the meeting to adjourn 
in a burst of laughter. After all, despite the unsatis- 
factoriness of life in general, there were lighter sides 
to it as well. 

It was Saturday, and therefore a day of early break- 
up for Hort, who, although lodging over-week in the 
village, preferred to spend Sunday in Mannstadt, 
whose bustle was more congenial to his unquiet spirit 
than the dull peacefulness of the rural Sabbath. 

Good night, boys I” was his parting greeting to 
the men who were in reality as much his disciples as 
his subordinates. ^Any message to Mariedl?” he 
added with a passing smile, as his eye fell on the youth 
who had upset the beer- jug. I’m bound for town, 
you know.” 

The young man grinned beatifically. 

I too am bound for town, master : I’ll take her out 
to-morrow.” 


CHAPTER X. 


Millar^ meeting Hort next day in the street, found 
him still full of the ^^sword affair/^ 

It sounds almost incredible/^ he said, having 
listened to the engineer's excited version of the inci- 
dent. wonder how I came to overlook it. And 
the man is actually dying, you say 

^^Very likely dead by this time, and the other will 
continue to walk proudly about the streets- — ^more 
proudly than hitherto. Is that the sort of justice 
which you wish to introduce into your country 

must hear more about this/^ said Millar, and 
straightway went and hunted up all the papers he 
could lay hold of. The ^Word affair’^ figured in most 
of them, and bore, even in the most cautiously worded 
paragraphs, a decidedly ugly look. 

There is something here which escapes me/^ was 
Millar’s conclusion. fancy I had better suspend 
judgment until I hear another version — General Rus- 
sel’s for preference.” 

Although he did not subscribe to all his country- 
man’s theories, it was to him that he invariably took 
his difficulties. 

On Sunday afternoons the general was usually to 
be found at Colonel von Grunewalde’s whist-table; 
accordingly Millar early presented himself at the 
house of which, within the last few months, he had 


118 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


become an habitue. Bare though the reception-room 
of the colonel’s was, its atmosphere suited him ad- 
mirably; within its unadorned but hospitable walls 
he was sure of always meeting military men, from 
whose lips he drank in that simple, unhesitating sol- 
dier’s creed, of which he had once been so firmly con- 
vinced, of which he still wanted to be convinced, 
despite certain doubts already moving within him. 
It was from their talk that he drew the arguments he 
required for opposing to General Eussel’s teaching. 

And then there was Hedwig, quite as convinced, 
quite as enthusiastic a soldier at heart as any of her 
father’s guests, and evidently very ready to discuss 
either this or any other subject with the good-looking 
and agreeable Englishman. 

Millar, marking this rather over-accentuated friend- 
liness of attitude, would probably have put her down 
as an ordinary society flirt, had not the observations 
made on the day of his initial visit — strengthened as 
they were by subsequent ones — led him to the conclu- 
sion that she was acting, not on impulse, but method- 
ically — that, in fact, if he was being pushed forward 
now, it was principally as a means of masking an- 
other’s defection. Many things had led him to sup- 
pose that, though Thekla had been fickle, it was not 
at her door alone that the charge of fickleness lay — 
nor that Hort was the only victim over whose heart 
the happiness of a certain resplendent couple would 
take its triumphant way. He could not easily forget 
the accent with which, answering some remark of her 
father’s touching Lieutenant Pletze’s non-appearance 
at the Sunday gatherings, Hedwig had said : — 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


119 


He was speaking of congenial elements the other 
day, was he not ? Probably he has found what he was 
looking for.”' 

The tone was almost cruelly scornful, but Millar 
saw the deep lines gathering upon her white forehead, 
and understood that the pain in her heart was no less 
cruel than the words. 

If in spite of this she favoured him, it could be only 
in order to brave out her own desertion — another 
humiliating conclusion, in truth, but not necessarily 
a final one, as it occasionally occurred to Millar when 
meeting Hedwig’s bright eyes approvingly fixed upon 
him. True, he wore no uniform, a circumstance which 
at first sight would appear to disqualify him hope- 
lessly in her eyes, since early in their acquaintance 
Hedwig herself had startled him by speaking of her- 
self quite calmly as the future wife of an officer — ^not 
of any particular officer, but, by a passing remark, 
taking for granted that this was the path of life 
marked out for her. This so obvious taking for 
granted provoked Millar to the experiment of say- 
ing:— 

Is it not rather risky to settle your future quite 
so categorically as that? Uhomme propose et Dieu 
dispose, you know, and sometimes it is la femme qui 
propose et Vhomme qui dispose, even if the particular 
man happens not to wear a uniform.” 

Oh, I don’t think so,” said Hedwig, looking at 
him with a puzzled frown. It was evident that the 
idea of marrying a civilian had never seriously pre- 
sented itself to her mind. 

You don’t seem to me the sort of person, some- 


120 the blood -tax. 

how, who could prize a man’s clothes above the man 
himself.” 

Xot his clothes, but his profession, of which the 
clothes are but the outward mark.” 

^^But might not a man be a soldier at heart, and yet 
be prevented by circumstances from adopting a sol- 
dier’s profession?” 

Millar, as he put the question, allowed a rather 
equivocal smile to play about his lips. That latent 
sense of excitement which is so apt to insinuate itself 
into the most harmless Ute-d-tete between a young 
woman and a young man was egging him on. 

That same latent excitement seemed to have touched 
Hedwig too, for she laughed, falling readily into his 
tone. 

Of course he might ! Are you not yourself an 
example of this truth?” 

It was moments like this which had made Millar 
think that his zeal in the great cause might possibly 
redeem even his profession in her eyes. The possibil- 
ity did not displease him. Of course, she was not half 
so beautiful as Thekla Eisner, the only other young 
woman with whom at this time he came in contact; 
but she was to him a quite as novel, and certainly 
more amusing, though distinctly provoking type. 
What provoked him about her was exactly that one- 
sided enthusiasm which had begun by delighting him. 
She was not stupid, that was clear, and yet did not 
j^eem quite capable of realising that, beside what was 
to her the one great interest, there existed other in- 
terests as great, and greater in their importance to 
the world ; that outside the only sort of life she had 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


121 


ever known there were countless other sorts of lives, 
which, though they might appear to her as distant as 
other planets do to us, might yet be larger worlds, 
more densely peopled than her own. This uncon- 
scious narrow-mindedness irritated Millar all the 
more that he guessed her nature itself not to be nar- 
row, but to have been pressed into its present limits 
by habit and early training. Without being either 
ridiculous or offensive, this graceful, bright-eyed girl 
bore upon her person the unmistakable hall-mark of 
militarism. 

Whenever Millar tried to enlarge her horizon it 
usually ended in a friendly dispute, as, for instance, 
on this Sunday afternoon, when, finding General Kus- 
sel installed at the whist-table and consequently um 
available for the moment, he resigned himself not 
unwillingly to Hedwig’s society. 

But yes,^^ she gaily objected to his strictures, ^^of 
course I know that Science is a very great thing, and 
Art too — I learnt all about them at school; but 
where would Science and Art be, where would all the 
acquirements of civilisation be, without the soldier’s 
sword to protect them ? Tell me that, if you can !” 

Oh, I am not attacking the soldier’s sword — ^you 
know I am not; I am very well aware that we have 
somehow managed so to arrange the world that we can 
only live at peace at the price of always preparing for 
war ; all I maintain is that the arts of peace are more 
important to human happiness than the arts of war.” 

I do not deny ; but every one, surely, has the right 
to select his favourite branches both of Art and of 
Science, Well, and if I prefer battle pictures to 


122 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


every other sort of picture, and if I find that the sci- 
ence of strategy is the most engrossing of all sciences, 
what can you possibly have to object to that, I 
wonder 

At that rate I suppose that drums and fifes are 
sweeter music to you than the voice of the best opera 
singer 

Why only drums and fifes ? Have we got no 
regimental bands? Have you not heard them play? 
Oh> if you had you would not be asking that question 
— ^you would yourself have thrilled down to the bot- 
tom of your soul, in answer to those strains, to that 
brave voice which makes one want to cry out to be 
led to battle/^ 

Her cheeks and her eyes had grown brilliant as she 
spoke. 

^^You should have studied music,” said Millar; 
^^you have evidently got the inclination.” 

Perhaps I have; but a piano would be far too 
bulky an addition to our luggage ; that is why I never 
learnt. I don’t know what poor papa would have 
done if I had proffered the request,” — she was laugh- 
ing again — ^^perhaps he would have granted me a 
zither, but that is too weak-minded an instrument for 
my taste. That’s another reason, I think, why I am 
not quite respectful enough to Science; I have no 
books to help me to keep up with it — books take such 
a place in packing, you see — and I’ve forgotten most 
of what I learnt at school.” 

And since you left school ? I have sometimes won- 
dered what you fill up your days with. Xo music, 
no books, you tell me — and no fiowers either,” he 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


123 


added, casting a perplexed look about him. ^^Xone of 
those things among which I hitherto imagined that 
young ladies spent their days. Nor have I ever seen 
you with even a strip of embroidery in your hand.’^ 

What would you have me embroider ? Cushions 
which papa would most certainly leave behind him the 
next time we were moved 

Perhaps you don’t like embroidering ?” 

I can’t honestly pretend that I do.” 

Nor flowers ?” 

Oh, well, flowers — that’s another thing ! But 
flowers are still more impossible to drag about the 
world than cushions, — I see that myself. I once 
bought myself a rose-bush in a pot, and it flowered 
beautifully for one summer ; but before the next sum- 
mer, just as the buds were forming, we changed sta- 
tions, and though I smuggled it in between the saddles 
it got smashed up on the way, and so my roses never 
flowered again.’^ 

She smiled at him again, a little wistfully this time, 
it seemed to Millar. After all, she could not be so 
very different from other girls, since even this rose- 
bush had struck roots in her heart. For a moment 
Millar seemed to catch sight of the strangeness of this 
girl-life, spent at the side of the gallant martinet who 
was her father, with his comrades for almost daily 
intercourse, with no other woman very near her, and 
with not even the usual opportunities of creating for 
herself separate circles of interest. Was it a wonder 
if she threw herself somewhat impetuously into those 
open to her? 

But what have you got, then ?” he asked, with an 


124 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


interest that was not unlike pity. Your father, of 
course, has got his service to fill up his life — but 
yours ? Is it not a little empty at times ? As empty — 
well, as this room^^ — and he looked again around him. 

Empty In an instant she had rallied to the 
defence of her father, whom she felt to be thus in- 
directly attacked. ^^My life is as full as his, since all 
his interests are mine. What have I got? Why, I 
have got everything that he has got — that we all have 
got, we daughters and wives of soldiers. You think 
us a dull lot, perhaps? Not a bit of it! There is 
always something interesting happening in the army; 
no day passes without some piece of news about a 
change of garrison, or a promotion, or some new mili- 
tary experiment. Our own troop, the cavalry, are like 
a big family, and the regiment again is a family 
within a family; what touches one of us touches us 
all. And then, do you know, I always read our ex- 
cellent army organ, and so I know all about every- 
thing.” (Millar had often wondered to see her so 
well informed on the movements of even distant regi- 
ments.) ^^And then, but I tell you this in confidence” 
— and she bent forward a little, her mischievously 
sparkling eyes upon Millar’s face — even help a tiny 
little bit to command the regiment. Papa often talks 
to me about the various petitions and the various re- 
quests he gets — such funny ones sometimes! — and 
occasionally he consults me. Sometimes it is the 
mother of a lieutenant, just entered, who writes im- 
ploring letters, begging him to keep an oye upon her 
beloved boy, and not to let him gamble or drink too 
much — they all seem to think that a colonel is a sort 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


125 


of nursery-maid — and sometimes it is a young woman 
who humbly begs to be allowed to marry the trum- 
peter^ her fiance of seven years’ standing, and who 
promises to make him such a good wife! I amuse 
myself wonderfully well over these letters sometimes ; 
you would never believe what good times papa and I 
have together. But these are only the ordinary times ; 
there are much more exciting moments than these; 
for instance, in summer, when the exercises begin, and 
I ride out on my beloved Asra to watch papa com- 
manding the regiment. Oh, those are glorious days 
indeed ! — ^to see all those horses wheeling and all those 
swords flashing at his word of command I And what 
grand gallops I have on the way home 1 And when 
autumn comes and the big manoeuvres — ah, by the 
bye, do you know that the manoeuvres this year are 
going to be the biggest that have been for long? I 
am looking forward to September far more than I 
ever looked forward to any ball. And you are in luck 
too, for the field of operations is quite easy to reach 
from Mannstadt. You will be present, I suppose? 
You could not miss so grand an opportunity of get- 
ting a real idea of our army.” 

I shall certainly be present. I assure you that I 
too am looking forward to September. Why, even at 
the manufactory we are preparing for the manoeuvres : 
we turned out fifty prime bicycles for the War Office 
last week.” 

It will be worth your while. Just fancy, a hun- 
dred and ten thousand men, all collected within a 
radius of twenty miles ; eighty-five thousand infantry, 
twenty-one thousand cavalry, four hundred and 


126 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


twenty-five pieces of artillery, all the great personages 
of the army, and of course the Kaiser, too. It seems 
almost to have been arranged especially for your 
benefit, does it not 

^^AlmosV^ said Millar, as he watched the warm 
colour ebbing and flowing upon her eager face. Mean- 
while he was sapng to himself : Anyway, she’s loyal 
to her father. In fact, I can’t well imagine her being 
disloyal to any man.” 

He was about to ask some further question about 
the manoeuvres when a move at the whist-table gave 
him the opportunity he had been waiting for. Aban- 
doning Hedwig somewhat unceremoniously, he drew 
General Eussel apart into that same window embra- 
sure in which they had had their first talk of all. 

And this sort of thing does not even appear to be 
very uncommon,” he concluded his indignant state- 
ment. ^^That is what they tell me, at least; but I 
cannot believe their wild talk. I need your word to 
assure me that these acts of brutality actually repeat 
themselves, and go unpunished. An unarmed man 
cut down in the open street, and unavenged! — ^but 
that would be nothing short of vandalism.” 

^^Xo, it is only militarism,” said the General, who 
had listened without any marks of agitation, the usual 
quiet smile upon his lips, as he diligently polished his 
eye-glass against his sleeve. 

You are always throwing that word at my head ! 
How can you make militarism responsible for the act 
of a madman ?’' 

He would have been madder far if he had kept 
his sword in its scabbard.” 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


127 


In Heaven^s name, why? Are you defending his 
action 

deplore it^ as the inevitable often has to be 
deplored.^^ 

Inevitable 

^^Yes. It is not that unfortunate lieutenant who 
bears the responsibility of his own act, but the system 
of which he is but an atom, and yet an integral atom. 
What they have told you is quite true : such collisions 
occur frequently, with more or less bloody results; 
but, for all that, there is far less personal brutality 
in play than would at first sight appear. Do you re- 
member what I told you about that enforced spotless- 
ness of life which is demanded of our officers, and 
which is in a certain sense the price of the high place 
accorded them in public esteem ? But this is not all 
that is demanded of them; for it is not enough that 
they be honourable and honest, even the appearance 
of a slur upon their name must be scrupulously 
avoided, if they are to retain their places. Neither 
an insulting word, nor the lightest blow — ^not even the 
threat of one — can be allowed to sit upon the uniform. 
Therefore, he who has not been clever enough or 
prudent enough, or perhaps merely lucky enough, to 
keep his soldier’s coat perfectly clean has no alterna- 
tive but to take it off. It follows that the German 
officer has to walk through life, virtually, with his 
hand on his sword-hilt, always on the alert, always 
ready to draw it at the given moment. That lieuten- 
ant who to your eyes appears a sort of licensed high- 
wayman was only making a desperate attempt to save 
himself — ^not his bodily life, which was in no danger 


128 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


from the shopkeeper’s stick, but his future, his career, 
perhaps even his daily bread, if he happened to have 
no private fortune. If his insulter had been of his 
own rank a challenge, of course, could have settled the 
matter ; but since one cannot fight a duel with a shop- 
keeper, and since a blow not instantly avenged, an 
insult not rammed down the throat of the speaker, 
becomes at once fatal to himself, what other resource 
has he but his sword ? Has he not hundreds of warn- 
ing examples before his eyes ? Our provinces are full 
of these wrecked existences, men whose personal hon- 
our is intact, yet whom the inexorable army laws have 
cast out of its ranks ; the lists of emigrants are fuller 
still of their names, since many prefer banishment to 
living out their disgrace at home. I myself could 
name to you men who once shone as cavalry officers, 
now gaining their bread in New York as riding- 
masters, sometimes even as grooms. It sounds a 
little merciless, perhaps, but once admit the actual 
position of the army, and everything else follows as 
unavoidably as day follows upon night. I even main- 
tain that the arrangement has its advantages as well 
as its disadvantages. The net of moral qualifications 
through which our officers have to pass is a deucedly 
fine-meshed one, the crucible in which he is tested is a 
confoundedly hot one, but at least it makes the admis- 
sion of unworthy elements almost an impossibility. 
To most countries these fine meshes are invaluable. 
You must remember that Continental public life is 
not so clean as English — it is good to have at least 
one class of which the nation can feel absolutely sure. 
But the system, like every system, demands its vie- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


129 


tims ; that dying shopkeeper is one of them, a certain 
groom at New York is another, and, honestly, I donT 
know which of the two I am sorriest for.^^ 

am sorriest for the shopkeeper,^^ said Millar, 
stoutly. 

^^That sounds almost anti-military, does it not?^^ 
asked the General with a shade of slyness in his smile. 

Can it he that your opinions 

Xo, no, — my opinions are still my opinions, only 
— I^m beginning to think that the matter isnT quite 
so simple as it seemed to me at firsV^ unwillingly ad- 
mitted Millar. 

But the General wisely forebore to press his ad- 
vantage. 

The matter looks very simple at a distance ; yet 
BO big a machine cannot well avoid having its wheels 
within wheels. To an outsider the anxiety with which 
the army watches over the good repute of its members 
may occasionally appear ridiculous. Xo young girl 
is so preoccupied about the spotlessness of her first 
ball-dress, no lover so jealously watchful of the doings 
of his mistress, as the German army of the fair name 
of each one of its officers. This care reaches such a 
point that even to hear that a lieutenant has sold a 
horse advantageously is enough to make his superiors 
watch him uneasily, instinctively suspicious of this 
unsoldier-like aptitude for business. And yet this is 
only one of the many wheels which help the big ma- 
chine to move.” 

^^It is not always the most complicated machines 
that move the easiest,” mused Millar aloud. 

This one works smoothly enough here, though it 


130 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


may yearly grind a few lives to powder ; the question 
is only — how would it work over there ?” 

^^That is what I am beginning to wonder,” said 
Millar, but this time not aloud. 


CHAPTEE XL 


Hebe and Frau Eisner were beginning to grow un- 
easy. 

It was five months and more now since Lieutenant 
Pletze had asked that waltz tour of Thekla, and yet 
nothing definite had happened. In view of the assi- 
duity with which he visited the house, as well as the 
ingenuity he displayed in meeting the Eisner ladies 
elsewhere, in view especially of the unmistakable state 
of his feelings, it was difficult to doubt his intentions. 
Why, then, did he not speak ? 

It cannot be that he is afraid of a refusaV^ said 
the simple-minded Frau Eisner to her husband. 
^^Surely we have given him every encouragement we 
could.^^ 

^^More encouragement perhaps than was wise,^^ 
remarked Eisner, with artificial severity. 

Is it not possible that after all he shrinks from 
the connection ? May it not seem to him a degrada- 
tion to marry out of his own class ? We have no von 
to our name, you see.^^ 

But we have a little money in our pockets,^^ mod- 
estly completed the manufacturer; ^^and I will pay 
Lieutenant Pletze the compliment of saying that I 
judge him reasonable enough to — ahem — give to this 
circumstance its due weight. Xor do I take him to 


132 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


be one of those overstrained characters who can see 
degradation in association with honest work.^^ 

^^But what can he be waiting for, then? For 
Thekla to declare herself ? I do believe the poor child 
will end by doing so if he holds back much longer. 
Anyone can read her feelings on her face. And she 
is actually growing quite thin ; she never takes a sec- 
ond helping at dinner now.^^ 

Frau Eisner sighed profoundly and noisily. This 
evidently was to her by far the most significant detail ; 
the quantity of food consumed was her invariable 
guide in measuring emotion. 

I positively don’t know what to do with her. She 
spends half her day at the piano now, and always with 
that Frauenliebe und Leben. I am very fond of 
music, very, but really I have had enough of ^Er, der 
Herrlichste von Allen.’ She never gets beyond that, 
somehow. It’s very significant that she won’t be per- 
suaded to go on to the next song — ^the one after the 
betrothal, you know: — 

** Ich kann’s nicht fassen, nicht glauben, 

Es hat ein Traum mich beriickt: 

Wie halt Er denn unter Allen 
Mich Arme erhoht und beglUckt ? 

I’m sure she’ll sing that only after he has spoken; and 
if he never speaks at all she’ll never sing it at all, but 
just grow thinner every day before my eyes, and fade 
away into her grave.” 

* I cannot think nor believe it, 

A dream has turned my mind; 

Among a thousand others, 

How should he have chosen me? 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


133 


And Frau Eisner began to search for her handker- 
chief among the folds of her cashmere gown. 

Her husband was nervously tapping an ivory paper- 
cutter against the edge of the table. 

^^Tut, tut, Frida — yon take this affair far too 
much to heart. I canT say I have noticed any falling 
away in Thekla^s figure. I do not deny that her fancy 
may have been taken by this young man^s very pleas- 
ing exterior, as well as by his attentions ; but even if 
they should lead to no result, I trust that no daughter 
of mine would so far forget herself as to abandon 
herself unrestrainedly to her disappointment. The 
great thing is to preserve a certain measure in all 
situations of life, a principle which I hope I have suc- 
cessfully instilled into her mind. There is no reason 
why she should despair, even if this chance fails her ; 
she will have plenty of other chances, and enough op- 
portunities of choosing a husband who will perhaps 
be even worthier of her than this young officer who 
in his conceit — ^that is to say, in his somewhat too 
great self-appreciation— possibly thinks that he would 
be condescending too far by marrying our daughter.'^ 

He spoke with studied indifference, still playing 
with the paper-cutter, but even Frau Eisner’s not very 
quick ear was able to detect the false note. The fact 
of the matter was that despite his earnest disclaimers, 
despite the care with which on principle he avoided 
the appearance of bending too low before the Army 
idol, Herr Eisner’s peace of mind was quite as deeply 
involved in the issue of the lieutenant’s courtship as 
was that of his more naively outspoken spouse. His 
attitude towards the military power had always had 


134 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


a suspicion of the sour grape in it, and in the instant 
that the grapes appeared to be coming within reach 
of his hand their acidity had, for him, turned to the 
most delicious sweetness. Although nothing would 
have induced him to admit it, he had fallen as pros- 
trate before the uniform as had Thekla herself. 
Though rich, he did not happen to be one of those 
money fanatics who care only for the pairing off of 
gold sacks, and despite all his care to preserve in his 
wishes that ^^measure” to which he was so devoted, he 
could see nothing more desirable at the present mo- 
ment than to secure this penniless but brilliant lieu- 
tenant for his daughter. He had toiled hard to amass 
his fortune, and this young man had never worked, in 
the sense in which he counted work; but notwith- 
standing this he could discover no more worthy em- 
ployment of his money than to lay it at the feet of 
this son-in-law, whose personal prestige — ^the double 
burnished prestige of a cavalry uniform, besides which 
even an infantry tunic looks dull — ^would in an instant 
raise the family to another social level. Nothing 
could flatter his importance more than to see his hard- 
earned thousands accepted; it was the thought that 
they might possibly not be accepted which was at 
present disturbing his equanimity. 

I suppose that to him it does appear like a con- 
descension,” said Frau Eisner, with a humility which 
in so big and so richly dressed a woman had a mildly 
humourous effect. ^^But, after all, if he is really in 
love 1 And if you saw how he looks at her sometimes 
you could not doubt. To be sure, I have been told 
that oflBcers, and especially cavalry officers, are dread- 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


135 


ful flirts in general, that they think nothing of turn- 
ing a girFs head and then leaving her in the lurch. 
Oh, Ferdinand, if that were to happen to Thekla ! I 
couldnT survive it ! Is there no way of preventing it ? 
Could you not do something ? How would it be if you 
were to ask his intentions next time he comes 

For a moment husband and wife looked at each 
other in silence, as though astonished at the audacity 
of the suggestion. Then Herr Eisner hastily dropped 
the paper-cutter. 

— I scarcely think that would do. Such direct 
interference is generally — ahem — ill-advised. It is 
even possible that the young man might be — ^fright- 
ened off by the step you suggest.^^ 

^^That is true,” despondently agreed his wife. 
^^And besides, one never can be quite sure of what an 
officer may do. Supposing he were to feel himself 
insulted by your question — and they have all sorts of 
rules about insults, I am told — might he not challenge 
you to a duel? And you have never fought in your 
life! Xo, no, Ferdinand, that would never do! 
Promise me that you will not say a word, or I shall 
not be able to sleep to-night !” 

I promise it you,” said Eisner, with an emphasis 
well calculated to secure that threatened nighPs rest, 
^^That is well,” she said, unburdening herself of 
another voluminous sigh. To her honest bourgeois 
mind, officers as well as the laws which ruled their 
lives appeared to be such mysterious and even rather 
awful things, that nothing was quite impossible. 
With the latest ^^sword affaiF^ still fresh in her mem- 


136 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


ory, it seemed to Frau Eisner now almost as though 
some dangerous encounter had been averted. 

There is nothing for it, I suppose, but just to have 
patience ; but ah, I do wish I knew what he was think- 
ing of!” 

But even if she had known what Lieutenant Pletze 
was thinking of, it is not likely that Frau Eisner 
would have felt much the wiser, seeing that there were 
moments when the young man himself would have 
been puzzled how to define his present state of mind. 
Those sentiments which appeared clear to the looker- 
on were equally clear to himself, nor could he easily 
figure to himself a future without Thekla by his side 
— that glorious, golden-haired Thekla, who had taken 
his heart by storm with that same magnificent sud- 
denness that she had surrendered her own. He rec- 
ognised the surrender, he knew that he had only to 
speak, he saw the questioning looks of the parents 
bent upon him — covertly or openly — and read them 
aright, yet the word did not come. A hundred times 
it had been on his lips, and a hundred times pushed 
back again, not by diffidence, not by nervousness — the 
usual hesitation of the lover could not possibly beset 
him here — ^but by a consideration from which he could 
not succeed in emancipating himself. The fear of 
condescending too much, imputed to him by Frau 
Eisner, was not at work, neither was it that he did 
not love Thekla enough, but only that he did not love 
her alone. In his profession she had a rival, and would 
always have a rival, even though she bore his name. 

When he said to Millar in the ball-room that to 
be a soldier was the only thing worth being, Lieuten- 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


137 


ant Pletze had actually meant it, not meiely as a 
figure of speech, but as a deep conviction of his soul, 
which was of an earnestness of mould not always to 
be found among the wearers of a cavalry uniform. 
For, although typical of his class, the fair-haired sol- 
dier was typical only of its very best portion. 

His soldier-father had died of the after-effect of 
wounds received in the Franco-German war; his 
soldier-brother had fallen in a pistol-duel, in defence 
of his honour — a circumstance which, by the bye, was 
considered an almost greater feather in his cap than 
even his f ather^s battle-field deeds ; his only sister was 
married to one of the most distinguished soldiers in 
the army; the army^s glories and its pains had been 
about him ever since he could remember anything. 
What wonder, therefore, that quite naturally and in- 
evitably he had fallen into that deep military groove 
from which escape is so difficult ? Though by nature 
far too amiable to be actively arrogant, this splendidly 
gallant and chivalrous young fellow instinctively 
looked down upon every civilian he met, with a sort 
of good-humoured condescension which its uncon- 
sciousness alone saved from being offensive. He did 
not want to wrong anyone, he had neither scorn nor un- 
kindness in his composition, but he honestly believed 
himself to be the superior of those people, not because 
of any personal qualities — this sort of vanity is purely 
impersonal — ^but simply on the strength of his pro- 
fession. He was no more stupid than Hedwig von 
Grunewalde was stupid, but he was exactly as narrow- 
minded as she was, and for the same reasons. Being 
a man, he had unavoidably studied more, but these 


138 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


studies themselves had only pushed him deeper into 
the groove. In the matter of mere technical knowl- 
edge so much is required of a German officer nowa- 
days, that the time which remains to him for culti- 
vating his mind in other directions is painfully 
limited. Cultured the modern German officer un- 
doubtedly is, always polished, sometimes refined, but 
both his culture and his polish are of a special sort, 
and range unmistakably under the category of army 
fabrications. 

Probably it was the identity of their views which 
had first attracted him to the daughter of his colonel. 
They met constantly, all their interests were in com- 
mon, their horizon was the same, and, besides all this, 
there was no denying that Hedwig’s eyes were very 
bright. Although he had never been violently in love 
with her, he did not doubt that he would marry her 
some day; to himself, as well as to his comrades — 
and evidently also to Colonel von Grunewalde — it had 
come to seem a foregone conclusion. He himself had 
believed that he loved Hedwig, until, meeting Thekla 
at the press ball, he abruptly discovered his mistake. 
His prejudice against civilians had never extended 
to the fair sex, and without any anxious searchings 
of heart as to his own motives, he had abandoned him- 
self to the new fascination. It carried him away so 
swiftly that he soon lost his footing; it was in at- 
tempting to regain it that he found it was too late. 

That he should even wish to regain it appeared 
inexplicable to most of the lookers-on, among whom 
were the bulk of his comrades. What better fate 
could any of them wish than to be carried away by 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


139 


such a current as this? Was not the girl beautiful, 
and was she not rich ? Why hesitate before plucking 
such a prize? Could it be any lingering remorse 
touching his coloneFs daughter which was laming his 
hand? They had always known that he was a little 
different from themselves. 

Yet they did not know how different he was. Even 
to himself Pletze was a little shy of acknowledging 
the scruple which beset him. Money marriages were 
so much the order of the day in the army, cavalry 
officers were so commonly accustomed to pay their 
debts out of the strong coffers of their millionaire 
fathers-in-law, that to acknowledge his own personal 
dislike of the arrangement would only have been to 
court ridicule. That he could attain what so many 
others attained he did not doubt, and yet, though per- 
fectly aware of the market value of his uniform, it 
appeared to him something too great, something too 
sacred to be bartered thus, in the eyes of the world, 
for money-bags. 

Once, in a talk with Millar, to whom he appeared 
to have taken a fancy ever since their first conversa- 
tion in the ball-room, he discovered something of his 
thought. 

It was easier, somehow, to speak of this thing to 
an outsider than to one of his comrades, the majority 
of whom, as he was well aware, enthusiastic soldiers 
though they might be, did not share in his almost 
sentimental view of his profession, and were content 
to accept its advantages, without troubling themselves 
to the same degree as to its moral obligations. 

It was Millar himself, who, as puzzled as the rest 


140 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


of the lookers-on, had put an indirect question. Hav- 
ing watched the courtship from the beginning, he had 
seen it develop in a perfectly normal way, much as 
he had foreseen that it would, but having now entered 
a stage of stagnation, a sort of moral deadlock which 
he had not foreseen, and could not explain to himself. 

On this occasion the lieutenant had mentioned that 
he would be leaving Mannstadt in the middle of Au- 
gust, since at that time the brigade was to be con- 
centrated for the exercises preliminary to the autumn 
manoeuvres. 

" That will be rather a wrench, will it not ?” said 
Millar, watching him curiously. 

It will be a wrench.^^ 

Pletze passed his hand thoughtfully across his eyes. 

Sometimes I think that it would be good not to 
come back. A wrench may come to be a break, may 
it not ?” 

It can be turned into a break, I suppose — ^where 
a break is desirable.’^ 

And may it not be desirable, without being at all 
desired? Desirable, I mean, from a strictly honour- 
able point of view.^^ 

I would require to be shown where honour comes 
in ; but, to say the truth 

Look here,^^ said Pletze, interrupting Millar with 
unexpected directness, know what you mean, and 
I donT enjoy manoeuvres — in this sense. You are 
wondering, are you not ? why I have not already asked 
Praulein Elsner^s hand, and you cannot understand 
why I should not want to come back again to where 
she is. I do want, — very badly; and I suppose I 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


141 


shall come back, and I suppose I shall some day throw 
all my prejudices to the wind — I quite admit that 
they are but prejudices — and sacrifice my pride to my 
affection ; but it will be a sacrifice, in spite of every- 
thing. You think me quite idiotically in love — and 
so I am, but for all that, the sacrifice is there.” 

It is the money that bothers you, I see ; but is it 
just to yourself, as well as fair to her, to let the money 
alone divide you ? There is always a certain difficulty 
about marrying a rich wife, when the man himself 
has nothing to bring.” 

Oh, but I have a great deal !” broke in the lieu- 
tenant, bristling on the instant. Would I not be 
giving her my name, my position, all my future 
career? That is just it,” — and his tone grew confi- 
dentially lower ; ^^the whole thing seems to me a little 
too much like an exchange, a sort of friendly barter 
transaction; she gives me her money, and I give her 
all that attaches to my military rank. That’s what it 
will look like in the eyes of the world, anyway. If 
I was quite clear financially it wouldn’t have that 
same ugly look, perhaps; but life in a cavalry regi- 
ment isn’t particularly cheap, and I’m not very good 
at scraping pennies. It’s just about all I can do to 
keep the Jews quiet. They were quite quiet for some 
months, because they took my betrothal to be immi- 
nent ; bless you, they all of them know to a figure the 
number of bicycles which Herr Eisner yearly turns 
out of his manufactory, as well as the number of 
visits I have paid to his house since January, but now 
they are growing uneasy, and are egging me on. Do 
you know that one of my chief creditors offered to act 


142 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


as matrimonial agent and to go to Herr Eisner for 
me ? They think they are pushing me on, but they 
are really holding me back. The thought of the de- 
light with which they would greet the news disgusts 
me unutterably. If I thought that Herr Eisner would 
refuse to pay my debts I think I would speak to- 
morrow ! but of course they will go straight to him, 
and of course he will pay. Very likely you think me 
a fool, but all this goes against my grain. It does 
not seem worthy of my profession, somehow. I know 
that even my comrades laugh at me ; but then you see, 
our profession isnT perhaps quite the same thing to 
all of us. In those who have home life, it never can 
take quite the same place, I suppose. But I have never 
had anything else but it. My mother died at my 
birth, my father a few years later ; and I was so much 
younger than both my brother and my sister that they 
were out in the world long before I left school. I 
never felt as though I belonged to anyone or anything 
until I got into my regiment, and nothing really ever 
belonged to me until the day on which I put on my 
sword. That is why my profession has taken the 
place of everything else to me — why it has been to me 
family and home all together, and why it seems to me 
something so high, and that demands to be held high. 
I donT know if I can make you quite understand.’^ 

I have understood already,” said Millar, looking 
with undisguised sympathy at the earnest young face 
before him, which it wanted but the glow of emotion 
so wonderfully to transform. I see your difficulty 

and I appreciate it, but all the same 

^^All the same, what?” 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


143 


All the same I trust that the wrench will not be- 
come a break/^ 

^^He’s as hard-headed as a mule/^ was the inner 
comment which accompanied the words ; ^^but I don’t 
see how it can end in any way but one ; it wants but 
the most trivial chance to push them into each other’s 
arms.” 


CHAPTER XII. 


When he turned his back upon the factory, Hort 
had believed, and even hoped, that he would never 
again set eyes upon Thekla Eisner, or, at the very 
least, never again find himself in the same room with 
her; but it was otherwise decreed. A very ordinary 
occurrence played him an unlooked-for trick. 

There was a difficulty with the new machinery in 
the manufactory — ^nothing but one of those hitches 
to which all machinery is liable, and which so very 
much resemble the caprices of a spoilt child. Prob- 
ably any intelligent mechanic would have sufficed for 
the occasion, but Herr Eisner, in whom the memory 
of recently paid bills was still painfully fresh, and 
trembling for his new cog-wheels and capstans, in- 
sisted that the man who had set them up was the only 
one who could be certain to put them right again. 
Accordingly, Hort was sent for, and followed the 
summons on the instant, as he always followed any 
summons calling him to one among those few things 
which he chose to recognise as duties. 

It was the morning’s post which brought him 
Eisner’s letter ; and having installed Giacomo Alesta 
as temporary head of the gang, he took leave of his 
workmen for the day. 

But I shall be back before the evening,” he said at 
parting; ^^so those among you who are working their 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


146 


last day need not be afraid of having to start for their 
stations without their wages in their pockets/^ 

It was an inconvenient day for leaving his work, 
but Eisner’s letter had been couched in pressing terms. 

The last lot of bicycles for the War OfiBce still 
want their fittings/’ he wrote in evident agitation. 

I am bound to deliver them by September 1st ; it 
would be an immense loss to me if I were obliged to 
go back on my contract ; therefore come, I beg of you, 
as fast as you can !” 

In answer to this cry of distress, Hort, after a hur- 
ried journey, presented himself at the manufactory 
about the midday hour, to be told that Herr Eisner 
had five minutes previously gone home to dinner, leav- 
ing Millar in charge. 

When, half-an-hour later, the capricious cog-wheel 
— recognising its master, no doubt — had come to its 
senses Hort pulled out his watch. 

I suppose there is no especial need for my waiting 
for Eisner. By starting at once I could catch the two 
o’clock train.” 

There may be no need, but I know that Herr 
Eisner counts upon seeing you. He has all sorts of 
questions weighing upon his mind.” 

^^But he never comes to the manufactory before 
three.” 

Earely ; but might you not look in upon him ? It 
would not take you half-an-hour, and there is no fear 
of meeting anyone whom you would rather avoid,” 
he added quickly, thinking he saw a contraction of 
Hort’s eyebrows. ^^Mannstadt is about empty of 
troops just now, you know.” 


146 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


I know/^ 

Having stood for a moment staring silently at the 
floor, Hort looked up suddenly into Millar's face. 

Are they betrothed?" he asked, with a jerk of tlia 
underlip that was almost a grimace. 

Not publicly, at any rate, though I cannot of 
course say what private arrangements they may have 
come to." 

Hort smiled scornfully. 

^^You don't want me to believe, do you, that he 
would have gone off for five weeks without making 
sure of his prize? Considering the meagreness of a 
lieutenant's pay that would be a trifle too unpractical." 

I'm not sure that he isn't an altogether unprac- 
tical person — ^that is to say, if you are referring to the 
gilding of the prize." 

I don't understand you," said Hort, with unwill- 
ing curiosity. 

You admit, do you not, that to a certain sort of 
man the gilding may be the one disagreeable feature 
of the case, especially when it is laid on so thickly as 
here?" 

And you imagine that he is that sort of man ?" 

I have various reasons for supposing so." 

I'm not of your opinion," said Hort, still in that 
same supremely scornful tone through which, never- 
theless, there pierced a little astonishment, not en- 
tirely unmixed with respect. ^^That is not the spirit 
in which our young heroes of the army are accus- 
tomed to do their wooing." 

I know nothing of the others ; I am speaking only 
of this one." 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


147 


I suppose I had better go to Elsner^s/^ said Hort, 
abruptly breaking off the talk. 

The Eisner family were still at table as the servant 
informed Hort, who, having sent in his name, had 
asked to be shown to the business room. 

The engineer ? Herr Hort 

At the news Herr Eisner looked up in a flurry from 
his veal cutlet. shall be with him in a moment ; 
ask him to wait.^^ 

^^But, Perdinand,^^ interrupted his wife, honestly 
aghast, ^^you surely are not going to leave your dinner 
before the second course ! And probably Herr Hort 
has not had his dinner yet, either — where is your 
sense of hospitality? Why not ask him to join us? 
You ean talk quite comfortably while you eat.^^ 

That is true.^^ Eisner cast a glance in Thekla^s 
direction, and visibly hesitated. The struggle was 
brief, and ended by his saying in his accustomed meas- 
ured tone : — 

Tell Herr Hort that I request him to take a place 
at our table.” 

After all, what was there to fear of this man, whom 
recent events had shown to be harmless ; for whatever 
doubts Herr Eisner might entertain regarding the 
lieutenant^s intentions, he eould not reasonably have 
any about Thekla^s state of mind. 

^^That is well!” said Erau Eisner, with obvious 
pleasure. Nothing disturbed her kindly soul so pro- 
foundly as the thought of anyone going without his 
dinner — ^since, to judge from her personal sensations, 
this must be the very height of life's desolation. Be- 
sides, she had always felt a sort of wondering interest 


148 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


in Hort, whose conversation — fragments of which she 
had gleaned while he talked to Thekla — had both per- 
plexed and touched her. Merely to hear speak of so 
many people in the world with too little to eat was 
enough cruelly to harrow her susceptible soul, as well 
as to enlist her sympathy on the side of the speaker 
who was so obviously their advocate. So much a vic- 
tim was the big, fair-haired woman of her sympathies, 
that there had actually been a time when she had been 
quite prepared to favour Hort^s suit ; and though that 
seemed very long ago now, that was no reason why the 
poor young man should go without his dinner. 

Hort, on receiving the message, did not immediately 
either accept or refuse. Although nothing upon his 
face especially attracted the servant’s attention, his 
heart was beating furiously during the half minute 
that passed before he took his decision. He knew 
that if he said Yes, he would see Thekla within the 
next two minutes — would see her close — and the pros- 
pect appeared to him to be both insupportable and 
delicious; if he said Xo, he might possibly never see 
her again. Nothing but his own will stood between 
him and the acceptance of the invitation, since he 
knew that even by taking a later train he could still 
be at his post before the evening. 

I will come,” he said after that pause. 

Yearning and curiosity — a curiosity which his short 
conversation with Millar had wonderfully quickened 
— had gained the battle. 

In the dining-room he was received by anxious en- 
quiries from Herr Eisner, wreathed smiles from his 
hoatess, and by an embarrassed greeting from Thekla 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


149 


who, from the moment that Hort^s presence in tha 
house had been known, had begun to crumble her 
bread between her fingers with an air of quite un- 
usual annoyance upon her generally so calm face. 

In order, you say ? Actually in order enquired 
Eisner with joyful incredulity. 

In full action when I left the manufactory.^^ 

Splendid ! Splendid ! You have worked a real 
miracle ! Johann, bring back the soup for Herr Hort. 
Let me give you a glass of wine, meanwhile.^^ And, 
beaming with satisfaction, Herr Eisner poured it out 
with his own hand. 

Then there will be no difficulty about the delivery 
to the War Office? I had another urgent reminder 
this morning.^^ 

^^Not the slightest. So far as the machinery is 
concerned the War Office can have its bicycles in a 
week.^’ 

Splendid! And it isnT the War Office alone. I 
have never had so many orders as this season. I have 
been told that quite a number of people are learning 
to ride the bicycle expressly for the purpose of being 
able more easily to follow the troops.^^ 

^^Will we see any of our own bicycles, I wonder ?^^ 
asked Frau Eisner, mixing smilingly in the conver- 
sation — mean those scouts upon wheels that you 
told me about 

There is no reason why we should not, although 
it is very likely that we shall not see the half of what 
we expect to. I fancy it will be a mere chance 
whether we get a sight of the tail of an army.^’ 


150 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


Herr Eisner was in such good humour that there 
were symptoms of his growing jocular. 

You are thinking of assisting asked Hort, care- 
ful to look at Frau Eisner alone. 

Indeed we are. We have been looking forward 
to it for weeks — Thekla and I. They are the first big 
manoeuvres that we shall ever have seen, and it’s quite 
easy to reach from Mannstadt.” 

Hort said nothing at once, and wondered only that 
the next mouthful he swallowed did not choke him, so 
sharp was the spite rising within him. He knew, 
indeed, that many excursions to the field of operations 
were being prepared, seeing that the great military 
spectacle was more attractive to the general public 
than could be even a new operetta ; but in his eyes the 
Eisners’ resolution could bear but one meaning. Fur- 
tively, from under his lowered brows his eyes went 
towards Thekla, and the confusion on her face was 
as food to the anger within him. Until this moment 
he had not trusted himself to look at her, and now 
only he was able to perceive that the last few months 
had changed her, not to the disquieting degree on 
which her mother had insisted, but still unmistakably 
changed, with a new shade on her serenity and a new 
trouble in her eyes. The recognition could bring him 
no relief, knowing, as he did, that the trouble was 
for another. 

am rather of Herr Eisner’s opinion,” he said, 
forcing a smile to his pale lips; ^^namely, that there 
is every chance of your getting nothing to see for your 
pains but clouds of dust, and perhaps a few grimy 
patrols. A manoeuvre isn’t a parade, and the bigger 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


151 


it is the more difficult to get anything like a com- 
prehensive view/^ 

Just so ; and I myself do not start with any ex- 
aggerated expectations. Also I doubt whether the 
accommodation at Eeising, where we mean to put up 
for the great week, will be of the best. But since it 
is the desire of my wife and daughter — that is to say, 
since it seems the natural thing to do, and might even 
argue a want of patriotism to lag behind so many 
others, I have decided to make the effort.^^ 

It had suddenly occurred to Herr Eisner that the 
construction which Hort could put upon the excursion 
might possibly be the right one; hence the hurried 
correction. 

Dinner was over, and black coffee being drunk in 
the drawing-room, when Hort unexpectedly found an 
opportunity for airing some of the wrathful soreness 
within him. During the whole of the meal he had 
avoided directly addressing Thekla ; he had meant to 
leave without doing so, but circumstances proved too 
strong for his resolve. 

Herr Eisner had retired in order to change his coat 
previous to returning to the manufactory, and Frau 
Eisner, who as a true German was her own house- 
keeper, had replied to some urgent domestic call. Al- 
most to his consternation, Hort awoke to the fact that 
he and Thekla were alone in the room. That she was 
quite as much disturbed by the discovery as himself 
was evident from the rapid flushes that passed over 
her face, and by the alarm in her eyes that strayed 
almost panic-stricken towards the door, as though 
with thoughts of escape. For one instant he was not 


152 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


far from feeling pity, but within the space of the 
drawing of a breath the impulse was passed, changed 
to a bitter pleasure at her distress. A cruel mood had 
hold of him, as, deliberately turning from the book 
he had been fingering, he approached the low chair on 
which she sat. 

^^Is a question allowed?’^ he enquired, apparently 
with the most cold-blooded self-possession, though his 
heart was again beating with suffocating haste. Then, 
as Thekla, not quite steadily, had said, ^^Of course 
— ^he bent a little over her, so as to be able to lower 
his voice: — 

Are congratulations premature ?” 

It was not alone the irresistible temptation to tor- 
ture the woman for whom he had undergone such tor- 
tures, which was drawing him on. Besides furious 
spite, furious curiosity was at work within him. The 
absence of a public announcement could not suffice 
him ; he wanted to discover now, immediately, whether 
that private understanding which Millar had spoken 
of as possible existed or not. 

And now, surely, he might have felt pity. From 
her position on the low chair Thekla was looking up 
at him, trembling and fiushed, with deprecating blue 
eyes which seemed to be asking for mercy, which 
wanted to sink, yet were held by his. Yet what he 
felt was not pity, rather a rapturous astonishment at 
discovering over again how beautiful, how perfectly 
flawless her face was even seen thus at close quarters 
— ^he had forgotten how deep were the eyes, how clear 
the skin — and at the same time a perfect rage of de- 
spair at the thought that all this was not for him. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


163 


So strong was the tide of emotion that swept over him 
then that it was all he could do not to put out his hand 
towards the prize which he knew to belong to another, 
not to bend down a little lower yet, and, taking her 
unawares, press his lips for once, and once only, 
against that quivering, childish mouth. 

Congratulations ?” she faltered. 

Yes, I can explain further, if you like, but I fancy 
it is superfluous. I am working outside Mannstadt 
now, but you see that its news reaches me, all the 
same.^^ 

It does not reach you right, then. I — I — ^there is 
nothing to congratulate about. Nothing has been 
said ; I mean 

^^Not yet? Wonderful, certainly, how blind some 
people are 

Hort broke into his harshest laugh, just as Herr 
Eisner opened the door. 

A little quiet unreasonable relief mixed for a mo- 
ment with his wrathful thoughts. The private un- 
derstanding did not exist, then — the last definite step 
was not taken — but what consolation could that bring 
him, seeing that the reluctance was not on the woman’s 
side, but on the man’s ? She was won already — wait- 
ing only for his word — that much would have been 
abundantly clear to him even had he been no jealous 
lover. It was with this impression, as the last and 
strongest, that he left the Eisners’ house. 

She does not even take the trouble to hide it,” he 
told himself ; ^^she is going after him now, openly, in 
the eyes of the world. On the mere chance of catch- 
ing sight of him at the head of his company, she has 


154 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


induced her parents to live for a week in some 
wretched inn, where that poor Frau Eisner will prob- 
ably die of hunger, for want of anything fit to eat. 
She canT live without her hero for a matter of six 
weeks, it seems 

With such bitter jeers as these did he shorten his 
journey back to the spot where his gang of workmen 
were just beginning to collect their tools for the night. 
Many of them, army reservists, summoned for the im- 
pending manoeuvres, were to receive their last pay for 
several weeks. With rueful faces they counted over 
the coins in their hand. 

That wonT keep five children alive till I’m back 
again,” grumbled the yellow-bearded paterfamilias, 
whose very beard — of which he was passing vain — 
would have, on the morrow, to be sacrificed to army 
regulations. 

I never said that it would,” said Hort in a tone 
of exasperation, born of his experiences of the after- 
noon. ^^You don’t expect surely that your brats can 
even fall into the balance when weighed against the 
needs of the army?” 

But I don’t see why the army should have need 
of me in particular ; aren’t there lots of others ?” 

Of course there are ; but we’ve all got to take our 
turn you know — unless, of course, we happen to have 
friends enough to say a good word for us, or money 
enough to soften the hearts of the authorities. But 
you, my poor fellow, have got neither friends nor 
money, and that’s why you must just hold your 
tongue, and put on your uniform, and stop talking 
nonsense about your children. Children, indeed! 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


165 


Why, they don’t even count until they are old enough 
to be recruited. Just now the people up there don’t 
want to know anything about them, but wait till they 
are twenty, and their existence will be discovered fast 
enough — ^never fear !” 

^^It does seem hard,” sighed the youngest of the 
gang — ^it was Mariedl’s apple-cheeked admirer — 
whose existence, in the sense referred to, had not yet 
been discovered, but whose youthful heart was already 
torn at the prospect of the separation which next year 
must bring. 

And yet it’s only what you deserve, what we all 
deserve, for submitting so tamely to the iron yoke.” 

But what can we do, after all ?” 

We can make the army — all armies — impossible,” 
interposed Alesta, whose dusky face betrayed to-day 
a heightened interest in the subject in hand. 

^^We can do that?” came in several incredulous 
voices, but it was towards Hort that they looked for 
corroboration of the amazing statement. 

Who else ? Are not we the army ? Is not it with 
our flesh and blood that it fills up its ranks ? We are 
the nation, and an army can subsist only by the will of 
the nation ; and if the nation comes to declare that it 
will not submit any longer to having its flesh and 
blood put to so ignoble a use, how can the army go on 
existing?” 

It was probably the most directly revolutionary 
thing which Hort had yet said, at least in public ; but 
the beauty of Thekla’s face — re-discovered, so to say — 
and the heat of the jealousy he had brought away with 


156 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


him from that sight, had for the moment maddened 
him too entirely to let him weigh his words. 

We are too few of ns to declare anything/^ said 
one of the reservists, despondently. 

We are few now, but we shall be more some day. 
Let only every man act up to his convictions.^^ 

And the manner of making the declaration 

There are all sorts of manners,^^ said Alesta, with 
a curiously significant look out of his deepset, glow- 
ing eyes. 

One of the coolest of the listeners shook his head. 

I don^t know how it is with your army in Italy, 
but if you think it^s an easy thing to arrange a revolt 
in the army here, then you^re deucedly mistaken. 
The/re far too sharp for that. You^d never get to 
even drawing your sword. Why, you\e only got to 
look at an officer too hard in order to be clapped into 
arrest.^^ 

With a deal board for your bed,^^ completed Hort, 
grinding the heel of his boot into the grass. 

There are other ways than open revolt,^^ remarked 
Alesta, nothing disconcerted. 

But probably they are all a little dangerous 
The Italian threw up his hands with a theatrical 
gesture of contempt. 

Ah, well — if you want to be perfectly safe — if you 
are too much afraid of the policeman to lift a little 
finger, then just don’t lift it, and be content to serve 
your two years, and to let your fields be trampled to 
pieces by the troops in autumn.” 

Yes, the fields suffer terribly,” agreed several of 
the listeners. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


157 


All for the good of the country/^ said Hort, with 
his bitterest smile upon his lips, ^^or at least for its 
glory. What would other nations say of us if we did 
not give them a grand military show every year ? And 
what would our young lieutenants say if they had not 
so good a chance of showing themselves to the public 
at the head of their troops, and galloping about busily 
before the eyes of the ladies — whether over your fields 
or not — that is a matter of indifference 

Oh, but to us it isnT indifferent ; Franz Bentler 
was just telling me yesterday that at Goldstein they’ll 
have to dig up all their potatoes unripe, because they 
couldn’t count upon finding any after the troops had 
passed that way. They’ll ask for compensation, of 
course, but every one knows what that means. And 
all the fiour in the mill has been retained by order of 
the government for the troops, so that the people have 
got to go to Reising for their bread. And not a house 
in the place that has not got a handful of soldiers 
billeted upon it. No one seems pleased about it.” 

Except the women,” said Hort, with his sudden, 
sharp laugh ; you may be sure that the women are 
pleased. With so many uniforms about, your sisters 
and your wives will think themselves in paradise. But 
the price of that paradise comes out of your pockets, 
my friends — even if you have not to pay for it with 
your honour. If it were the potatoes alone! But 
how about every drop of beer you drink, and every 
pipe of tobacco you smoke ? How about even the salt 
which you put in your soup, and without which even 
the poorest cannot live ? What makes these things so 
hard to pay for? The taxes, of course! And what 


158 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


has swelled the taxes to their present monstrous size ? 
The army budget. Without that we should be living in 
plenty and in quiet, and, please God, we shall be living 
so some day — or if not we, then our children, or our 
grandchildren; for it is not possible that the world 
should continue to bear this burden for much longer. 
Most men are cravens, yet even the cravens will one 
day rebel against feeding the armed monster that lives 
upon our very lives.^^ 

Yes, it must be so the general murmur passed, 
while all eyes hung, fascinated, upon the pale-faced 
speaker, in whose voice there was to-day a thrill which 
they had not heard before, the darkness of whose eyes 
was lit by a flame which not one of them guessed to be 
an anguish of heart. 

Dusk had fallen when he left them, but even then 
all of the men did not disperse. 

An hour later anyone passing this way might have 
seen a shadowy group huddled together at the foot of 
the embankment, in their centre a shadowy figure, 
gesticulating fiercely, and talking rapidly, though not 
loud. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


Army 2, coming from the direction of Griesberg, 
Eennthal, has crossed the river Pleser, and is march- 
ing upon Felden. Army 1 is to concentrate with the 
least possible delay and to throw back the enemy.” 

^^Army 1, whose bulk, coming from the west, is 
supported by strong bodies from the south, is collect- 
ing on the borders of the Most river. Army 2, having 
advanced over Griesberg and Eennthal, has the order 
to continue the offensive movement over Eeising and 
Grassen, towards Mannstadt.” 

Thus ran the wording of the ^^supposed situation,” 
comprising the orders for the two camps into which 
the huge body of troops had been divided. Millar had 
them by heart almost from the moment that, in the 
company of General Russel, he reached the Beld of 
operations. Even before reaching it he had spent 
several hours over maps, earning for himself more 
headaches than insight into coming events, and had 
learnt from the Ordre de Bataille that Army 1 con- 
sisted of two corps and one cavalry division, repre- 
senting about 46,000 men, and owning 204 pieces of 
artillery, while Army 2 could boast of close upon 
50,000 men and a superiority of some sixty odd pieces 
of artillery. As yet, however, although the fourth 
day of operations was reached, the presence of this 
mass of troops had scarcely made itself evident to the 


160 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


casual looker-on. Millar, in his impatience for the 
sight after which he had sighed for so long — the sight 
of an army — and his ignorance of the conditions of 
even mimic warfare, could not quite restrain a certain 
unreasonable sense of disappointment. The booming 
of cannon from almost all points of the horizon 
formed indeed a suggestive background; but close at 
hand there had as yet been little to see beyond tired- 
looking bodies of infantry tramping along the roads, 
sometimes a cavalry squadron bivouacking in the 
shade of a forest, here and there a patrol appearing 
on the crest of a hill, silhouetted for a moment against 
the sky, to dip again beyond the line of horizon ; rows 
of provision waggons lumbering conscientiously along 
the left side of the roads they encumbered — all this 
there was to be seen, and plenty of inquisitive peas- 
ants, as well, staring along the roads, and no less in- 
quisitive sightseers, on wheels and on horseback, dart- 
ing somewhat fitfully about the country in the spas- 
modic attempt to come in somewhere or other at the 
right moment; sunburnt and perspiring faces, an 
insatiable demand for liquid in every shape, from the 
jugs of water which compassionate onlookers held out 
to the marching soldiers, to the Ehine wine provided 
by the enterprising trader who dogged the steps of 
higher officers more persistently than any patrol ; and 
a great deal of dust over everything, but no total im- 
pression to be gained, so far, nothing like the big 
effect which Millar had hoped for. 

It is coming,” said the General, unmoved, in an- 
swer to his questions. 

It is coming,” said Hedwig von Grunewalde, with 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 161 

the happiest smile which Millar had yet seen upon 
her lips. 

Mounted upon her favourite Asra, a light-grey 
habit moulded without wrinkle upon her youthful 
figure, her eyes full of the eagerness of present in- 
terests, Hedwig was looking her best. She was never 
seen to greater advantage than on horseback, where 
her want of height disappeared, and only the sym- 
metry and alertness of her graceful person remained 
evident. Although for four days she had been in the 
saddle almost continuously, following the movements 
of her father’s regiment, under the guidance of a 
trusted groom, there were no signs of fatigue upon 
the face which she now turned towards Millar. 

You really must not be impatient. You cannot 
want more than I do to see the final effect, but if you 
were a soldier you would know that the effect can have 
no value unless it has been correctly led up to. You 
must remember how far apart the different portions of 
each army were only the day before yesterday; all 
depends upon which of them can concentrate more 
quickly. Has not General Eussel told you all that? 
The first day was the day of the patrols, the second 
was the day of the cavalry, for the infantry of the 
opposing forces was still too far apart to come into 
collision; it was yesterday only that their advanced 
troops got into touch with each other, but it will not 
be until to-morrow that the grand crash comes, when 
both sides have reached the open ground they require 
in order to be able to unfold.” 

And in order to give the ’Kaiser the proper view 


162 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


of the final act/’ remarked General Eussel, with a 
trifle of mockery in his smile. 

The light trap in which he and Millar sat was 
drawn np at the cross-roads where the meeting with 
Hedwig had taken place. 

She looked at him reproachfully. 

Why do you talk of the manoeuvres as though they 
were a theatre ?” 

That’s what they are to almost every one except 
the actors.” 

But not to a soldier, surely — and you are a 
soldier.” 

Perhaps it is because I am a soldier that the final 
act seems to me the least important at all, the obli- 
gatory firework effect which is calculated principally 
to throw dust in the eyes of the looker-on.” 

I have heard this mimic warfare laughed down 
as a useless game,” began Millar. 

Then you have heard wrong ; it is neither useless 
nor a game, and would not be a game, even if the 
necessary conditions of warfare were more entirely 
absent than they actually are. Nothing easier than 
to mock at mock battles ; yet even in mock battles the 
element of surprise is not entirely wanting, since the 
most careful preparations will not prevent accidents 
happening, and since the weather will not be com- 
manded in times of peace any more than in times of 
war. Where accidents happen decisions have to be 
taken, dispositions reversed, orders modified, and it 
is in these moments that the cool man, the man 
with presence of mind, becomes instantly distinct 
from the man without it. You object perhaps 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 163 

that the trial is not adequate, since no blood- 
shed is entailed by a blunder; but other things 
are — ^instantaneous collapse of a long and hon- 
ourable career, for instance, since even thirty years 
of faithful service are not weighed — cannot be 
weighed — against an important mistake. Mercy is 
not a military virtue, you know; and where regard 
for individuals begins there the efficiency of the army 
ceases. A sad necessity, if you will, but an unmov- 
able one. The knowledge that it is so, quite suffices 
to put a set of shaky nerves off their balance, believe 
me. If they did nothing more than unmask these 
shaky nerves the autumn manoeuvres would be worth 
more than the money they cost. The man who, when 
told that the infantry division on whose support he 
counted has not been able to cover the distance stipu- 
lated, because of the heavy state of the roads, or that 
his artillery has stuck fast in a bog, does not lose his 
head is pretty safe to keep it on a field of battle. 
That^s why I say that, despite the real fatigues under- 
gone, despite the minute combinations necessary, it is 
false to call this a trial of endurance, or even of 
organisation; it is, first of all, a trial of presence of 
mind.^^ 

And yet the endurance too has been proved,^^ said 
Hedwig, bridling in defence of the army in general. 

Did you not hear that the 52nd regiment covered 
sixty kilometres yesterday? Surely that is good prac- 
tice for war? And other things, beyond endurance, 
have been proved as well. The pioneers, for instance, 
have accomplished wonders. Papa was just telling 
me about that bridge which between eleven o’clock 


164 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


last night and half-past five this morning was moved 
from Felden to Eeising, a distance of six kilometres, 
if yon please. And there was nothing mimic about 
that at any rate, since the whole division passed over 
in safety. You must acknowledge that that bridge, 
at least, was a very real thing.^^ 

^^The whole affair is a very real thing to you, I 
fancy,^^ said Millar, following the nervous movement 
of her fingers upon the reins. 

I should think it is ! Do you know why poor Asra 
is so wet just now? We had very nearly fallen into an 
ambush of the enemy^s infantry, and I have been gal- 
loping for my life, quite forgetting that the rifies are 
not loaded! In the process I somehow managed to 
lose J ohann, too. I hope you are not laughing at me. 
This is quite the most exciting moment of my whole 
year, you know. Our troops are massing beautifully, 
and it seems that the enemy’s right wing is too weak 
to act offensively; for the last two hours they have 
been throwing up trenches on the crest of the Pleser 
ridge; evidently they are putting themselves on the 
defensive for to-morrow, and we shall attack, instead 
of being attacked.” 

Who brought the news about the entrenchments ?” 
asked the General. 

The 3rd patrol, I think it was. The army com- 
mander has changed some of the dispositions for to- 
morrow in consequence.” 

Hum ; has no one got at the back of the line yet ?” 

Why do you ask ?” 

Because I think it would be interesting to know 
what exactly is happening behind those trenches. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


165 


Trenches are not generally dug in broad daylight 
unless you are prepared to brave observation. But 
the forenoon is getting on and the distance is tremen- 
dous; probably it is too late now for a patrol to get 
round and back again in time to bring any useful 
information.^^ 

Hedwig began to fidget in her saddle. 

You are making me nervous, General, although 
I donT quite understand you. I must find out if no 
further news has come in. What are those horsemen 
over there? White bands on their caps — that^s the 
enemy, then ; one of their patrols trying to get behind 
our lines, perhaps. I must try and follow their move- 
ments. Goodbye for the present; I suppose we shall 
meet on the battle-field to-morrow and with a sharp 
cut across the willing Asra^s shoulder, she was off 
again at full gallop. 

Could measure herself even with an English 
woman, could she not?^^ remarked the General, ap- 
provingly. 

Yes, she would look particularly well in an Eng- 
lish hunting-field,^^ agreed Millar, gazing somewhat 
dreamily after Hedwig^s diminishing figure. 

When she drew rein at last she was out of sight pf 
the occupants of the trap, and for the moment the 
horsemen with the white bands on their caps had dis- 
appeared from her view. It was a railway embank- 
ment, cutting straight across her path, which had 
caused her to check Asra rather brusquely. Presum- 
ably the enemy was on the other side of the obstacle, 
hidden from her by its height. Listening intently 
she thought she heard the sound of trotting hoofs^ 


166 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 

deadened by the body of earth beside her, and yet 
apparently approaching. 

“ From the top I should be able to see what horse- 
men these are,” thought Hedwig, feverishly. “I 
wonder if the side is too steep for Asra? It’s quite 

illegal, I suppose ; but, after all, in time of war 

She was already charging the bank as she thought 
it ; a scramble, two tremendous pulls, and Asra stood 
triumphant upon the forbidden ground. Yes, there 
were the white-banded horsemen — four or five of them 
close at hand now, having just emerged from the 
strip of pine-wood which came to within fifty paces of 
the railway line. But they were not drawing any 
nearer. As Hedwig emerged on to her point of van- 
perceived that they stood drawn into a group, 
as though for consultation. Rising as high as she 
could in her stirrup, she next became aware that the 
officer who led them was talking to a man on foot. 
She could see him bend from the saddle and put 
something into the hand of the old, grey-haired peas- 
^ folded paper, pointing at the same time up the 
line of railway. Looking that way Hedwig could just 
catch a distant glimpse of the red-brick station house. 
By the time she looked back again the horsemen were 
on the move once more, in the opposite direction, 
while the peasant, holding the white paper in his 
hand, had turned his face towards the red-brick build- 
ing. In an instant it was all as clear to Hedwig as 
though it had been a pantomime acted for her special 
benefit. The enemy’s patrol had come, from the 
direction of the first army’s head-quarters, and, while 
pursuing its investigations in another direction, was 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


167 


despatching to its own headquarters the information 
gathered, by means of a telegram which it had been 
imprudent enough to entrust to an outsider. 

It would be a good thing indeed, if I could pre- 
vent that paper reaching the station house,^^ thought 
Hedwig, gazing after the peasant, who tramped stol- 
idly towards his goal, the white paper conspicuous 
in his hand. could catch him up easily, of course, 
even if he takes to running — but after? I canT well 
come to a hand-to-hand scuffle with him. Johann 
might have done the job, if I had not so cleverly lost 
him. Surely he ought to be on my track by this 
time?^^ and rising again in her stirrup, she looked 
about her in search of the missing groom. But strain 
her eyes as she would he remained invisible. For a 
moment, indeed, that stolidly tramping peasant was 
the only moving figure within sight, for the enemy’s 
patrol had again disappeared among the pine-trees. 

Shall I try it, after all?” Hedwig was just saying 
to herself, when again the sound of trotting horses 
fell upon her ear, and from another point of the road 
there emerged another band of horsemen, and with- 
out white bands on their caps, which meant that they 
were friends. There was the salvation looked for. 
Without wasting a single instant on reflection, Hed- 
wig scrambled down the bank in as headlong a fashion 
as she had scrambled up it, and made straight for the 
band of riders, whose horses’ heads, as she at once 
perceived, were turned away from the direction of 
that critical station house. So entirely had the situ- 
ation taken possession of her that she was close to 
them before she perceived that they wore the uniform 


168 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


of her father’s regiment. Another keener glance, and 
in the officer riding at their head she had recognised 
Lieutenant Pletze. For just one moment Asra was 
surprised by a sudden check on the reins, followed, 
however, by an enhanced dig of the small heel. In 
that moment Hedwig remembered, that although this 
man in the dusty blue tunic, and the hard, glittering 
helmet might possibly be a fickle lover, he was also 
an ally, almost a comrade. However far apart their 
interests might lie in general, at the present moment 
they were identical. Provoking, certainly, that she 
should have stumbled upon this patrol of all others, 
but that was no reason for betraying the cause of 
Army 1. 

Hearing the gallop of her horse behind him, Pletze 
turned in the saddle, not very willingly, for in the 
moment that she stood conspicuous upon the embank- 
ment he had identified the amazon, and if the meet- 
ing was distasteful to her, for him it bore a certain 
fiavour of guilty self-consciousness, peculiarly repel- 
lant to his nature. 

What is it ?” he asked, as she came abreast, deeply 
humiliated by the discovery that he could not meet 
her gaze without reddening. 

Turn your horses the other way,” said Hedwig, 
breathless. ^^There is a message to be interrupted. 
You have only just arrived in time. Look along 
there ; you see that peasant in the long coat ? He has 
a telegram in his hand; it was given him by an 
enemy^s patrol — I saw it; he is taking it to the sta- 
tion ; it will be despatched in five minutes.” 

Xo it won’t !” said Pletze, transformed in an in- 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


169 


stant. ^^Spurs to your horses, men ! It will be an 
eternal disgrace to us if that fellow reaches the 
station 

Hedwig, swept along by the sudden movement, 
found herself a little in the rear of the dragoons, the 
gallop of whose horses caused the stolid peasant first 
to look anxiously over his shoulder, and then to break 
into an uneven run. It was the end of his stolidity, 
obviously. Despite the strong reality which it all 
bore for her, Hedwig found herself laughing aloud at 
the sight of the panic-stricken countenance which the 
fugitive turned upon his pursuers, as well as at his 
ejaculations which, had his life been actually for- 
feited, could not have exhibited a more terror-stricken 
piety. It was with a groan of relief as profound as 
though he were thereby saving his skin that he handed 
over the closed paper. 

^^I must plaster up his fright with a few coins, 
since it is I he has to thank for this,^^ said Hedwig, 
groping for her purse. ^^But it was a good thing you 
met me, after all, was it not 

^^An excellent thing radiantly acquiesced the 
lieutenant. 

All trace of embarrassment had disappeared from 
both their manners, swept away by the excitement of 
the small incident. For the moment the common 
interest sufficed entirely to save the situation. He 
looked at her straight from under the rim of his steel 
and leather helmet, which, however inconvenient a 
head-covering on a warm September day, sufficed to 
bring him, in Hedwig^s eyes, at least, within meas- 
urable distance of the crusaders — his restless steed 


170 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


fretting under his hand, his whole person producing 
that supremely satisfying impression which the secur- 
ity of perfect horsemanship never fails to convey. 

I shall send this to headquarters at once. Here, 
dragoon Berger, your horse is fresh ; get to Grassen as 
fast as he will carry you ! But that patrol and he 
turned again to Hedwig. ^Tt cannot be far yet; at 
what point did it enter the forest ?” 

Over there, where there is that break between 
those two big pines.^^ 

How many men ?” 

I counted five.^^ 

Splendid ! Then we can hope to make a mess of 
their plans. Corporal Schulz, you follow them with 
five men — but not the best horses, mind — I require 
those for myself, keeping out of their reach, of course, 
if you can, but worrying them off the line in the usual 
way. Eeally, Fraulein von Grunewalde, you deserve a 
decoration ! Without you we should have missed both 
them and their telegram.^^ 

A decoration would never reward me,^^ said Hed- 
wig, a little tremulously. 

^^My gratitude, then,’^ said Pletze, too low to be 
heard by the men. 

I do not ask even for that.^^ 

The lieutenant seemed on the point of impulsively 
extending his hand, but restrained himself in time. 

Thank you, and goodbye. I much dislike leaving 
you thus alone, but I have not a moment to lose.^^ 
You are going after the patrols ?” 

^^No; Schulz will manage that; I have a harder 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


171 


piece of work before me — to turn the enemy’s flank 
and find out the truth of the position in the rear.” 

But somebody was just saying that it was too late 
to do that in time to act upon the information.” 

It is almost too late, but almost is not quite, and 
I mean to do it if it is to be done. You wish me suc- 
cess, do you not?” 

With all my heart !” said Hedwig, her eyes light- 
ing up beautifully in response to his. 

In the next moment already the fire had died down, 
quenched by the tears which welled up, .as she watched 
the flying hoofs of his horse. 

How can he be so splendid, being so faithless ?” 
she was asking herself, too absorbed to notice that 
Johann, having at last succeeded in tracking his 
young mistress, had just emerged very red and breath- 
less from a thicket of willow close by. 

Colonel von Grunewalde had been particularly un- 
lucky in his quarters for the last two days. Having 
passed one night in a barn, wrapped in his cloak, he 
was preparing to spend the second in a village school- 
house, upon a wooden bench, with that same cloak in 
guise of mattress. It was the sort of couch which, in 
theory, appealed entirely to his soldierly instincts, 
and yet looked so little attractive in practice, that the 
colonel, casting about him for some means of lengthen- 
ing the evening and consequently shortening the 
night, hit upon the idea of making a brief exeursion 
to the neighbouring country-house, where Hedwig 
was staying with friends, in order to see how his little 
adjutant, as he loved to call her, was bearing the 


172 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


fatigues of the campaign. It was the first time since 
the beginning of the manoeuvres that he found him- 
self in her immediate neighbourhood — why not profit 
of the fortunate chance, since a ten minutes’ ride 
would take him to her side ? In half an hour he would 
be back at his post, and, the operations for the day 
being suspended, it was at least probable that his 
presence could be dispensed with for that space. 

At Schloss Wallsee he was received with open arms, 
not only by Hedwig herself, but also by the sociable 
young couple to whom the manoeuvres were welcome 
principally as an opportunity for exercising promis- 
cuous hospitality. 

Hedwig lost no time in drawing him off to the 
further end of the big drawing-room, where she forced 
him into an armchair so wide and luxurious that the 
colonel’s spare figure was almost swallowed up be- 
tween its broad arms. 

^^You look terribly tired, my poor Vdterchen; I 
insist upon your sitting still for at least ten minutes !” 
and she promptly sat down on a stool at his feet, as 
though to prevent his premature escape. 

For a few minutes they talked, almost en tete-d-tete, 
left discreetly alone by the rest of the numerous and 
gay company, Hedwig, whose light-coloured dress was 
stained to a delicate rose colour by the silken lamp- 
shade close by, sitting all the time in close proximity 
to the colonel’s tall riding-boots. Though the boots 
were dusty, and the voice in which he gave her his 
account of the day’s doings and his hopeful prognosti- 
cations for the morrow was dry to the point of being 
occasionally cracked, they both seemed to her su- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


173 


premely lovable, as did also the bony hand which 
hung by his side, and which from time to time she 
lightly touched with the tips of her own fingers, as 
though to bring the reality of his presence more com- 
pletely home. For he had been to her not only father 
and mother together, this tired old soldier in the deep 
armchair, he had been to her friend and comrade in 
arms as well. 

It^s a good thing, after all, that I shall probably 
never marry,^^ Hedwig mused as she listened. 
donT quite see how he could do without his adjutant; 
I^m the only thing in his life that is not unmixed 
duty."^^ 

Five minutes were barely passed when a commotion 
became apparent at the upper end of the room. A 
moment before the door had opened and a servant 
rapidly approached the master of the house. Hedwig 
got quickly to her feet, aware that all faces had turned 
suddenly in their direction. 

A message for the colonel 

The words reached her amid the hum of voices. 

Already the door had opened again, disclosing the 
figure of a dragoon, whose streaming face was evi- 
dence of the pace at which he had ridden. In a 
moment the room was in commotion. Saluting 
mutely, the man handed over the written message, 
which the colonel, having crossed the room in a few 
strides, read in silence, all eyes upon him. Hedwig, 
watching anxiously, saw the shadow of a smile spread- 
ing over his face as he pushed the paper into his 
pocket. 


174 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


Good news ?” she asked, following him into the 
entrance after his hurried leave-taking. 

" Important news, at any rate. Patrol 2 has suc- 
ceeded in turning the enemy’s flank, and has broken 
through the lines with a message to head-quarters 
which gives a completely new picture of the situation. 
In order to meet it two divisions will have to be 
moved before morning; they are on the march by 
this time, no doubt ; our disposals also are changed — 
these are the new orders.” 

Patrol 2 ? But that is one of the patrols of our 
regiment, is it not ?” 

^^Yes, it is Pletze’s. I knew what he meant to do, 
but I never thought he could do it.” 

Then he has succeeded !” said Hedwig, clasping 
her hands in a sort of ecstasy. 

He has, and it may prove decisive for to-morrow. 
The man must have ridden like a devil to do it ; it’s 
about the smartest thing that the manoeuvres have to 
show.” 

I am glad that it is one of our patrols that has 
done it,” said Hedwig, more quietly. ^Are you not, 
papa ?” 

Yes, I am glad.” 

He paused for a moment, just before putting his 
foot in the stirrup, and then added, as though with 
an effort : ^And I am glad that it is Pletze who has 
done it. I always knew that he had the right stuff 
in him, but the opportunity of showing that it is there 
does not always come. His patrol has been the most 
active of all; it was only this forenoon that he man- 
aged to interrupt an important telegram.” helped 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


176 


him to do that!^^ thought Hedwig with swelling 
heart.) ^Tositively he seems to me everywhere at 
the same time. Yes, he is a splendid young fellow, 
and with a future before him, no doubt.^^ 

Although out here upon the house-steps it was 
almost dark, the colonel avoided looking at his daugh- 
ter as he said it. It was just because he was aware 
of bearing a grudge towards the man who had cheated 
her hopes and his own, that he was determined not to 
scrimp him of even one atom of lustice. 


CHAPTEE XIV. 


With a sound as of distant thunder in her ears 
Thekla awoke on the morning of this critical four- 
teenth of September. 

^^What is it, mamma? what is it?^^ she asked, 
rubbing the sleep out of her blue eyes, and looking in 
vain appeal towards the second bed, on which Frau 
Eisner was still slumbering sweetly, one large, white 
hand peacefully reposing on the top of the red cotton 
coverlet which was all that the ^^Silberner Krug” 
could afford to its guests. 

But long before her voice had pierced to her 
mother’s consciousness Thekla’s own senses had 
cleared. She had identified that far-off thunder as 
the voice of cannon, and had remembered that this 
was the last day of the big manoeuvres. 

Although, for want of proper guidance, the Eisners 
had hitherto seen far less of actual operations than 
had Millar, Thekla’s inflammable imagination had 
stood her in good stead, by filling up the unavoidable 
gaps. So successfully had the measured footfall of 
troops on the march — that most magical of all 
rhythms — the sight of galloping horses, and the rattle 
of musketry transported her in spirit on to an actual 
field of battle that there were moments when she 
found herself assailed by symptoms of genuine alarm. 
The hopeless bewilderment in which she looked on — 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


177 


utterly without clue to the signification of these seem- 
ingly erratic movements — far from diminishing her 
interest, seemed rather to heighten it. Exactly be- 
cause of her ignorance, the thing was to her almost 
more real than even to Hedwig von Grunewalde, 
whose knowledge enabled her, in her cooler moments, 
to look behind the scenes, while to Thekla the events 
happening around her took upon themselves the 
gigantic dimensions of the unknown. 

Yet, though she understood nothing, she was 
determined to see everything, and this determination 
it was which put an unwonted vigour into the shake 
which she now applied to her mother’s shoulder, call- 
ing, the while, into her ear: — 

Quick, mamma, quick ! They have begun 
already !” 

Was not this the day of days? The one which 
would perhaps afford her the sight, the hope of which 
had brought her here? For among all the glimpses 
of horsemen she had had, not one had afforded her the 
view of a certain broad-shouldered, golden-haired 
dragoon lieutenant, whom for six weeks now her eyes 
had wearied after. It was her last chance of seeing 
him as she wanted to see him, seated sword in hand 
upon his charger, and with words of command on 
his lips. 

Xever before and never after did mother and 
daughter end their toilets as rapidly as they did on 
this day. Frau Eisner’s corset, indeed, remained half 
laced, and even the little curls on Thekla’s temples 
were spared the burning-iron, to-day — a la guerre 
comme a la guerre! 


178 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


In less than half an hour Herr Eisner, fidgetting in 
the adjacent apartment, but anxious not to have his 
impatience discovered, had the satisfaction of wel- 
coming his family to a hasty breakfast. 

Good news he greeted them in the best of 
spirits. have been out for information, and by 
good luck stumbled upon Mr. Millar in the com- 
pany of a general, to whom he introduced me — a very 
polite gentleman; he has offered to show us the way 
to a point of vantage — seems to know exactly what is 
coming. They are waiting for us at the ^Griiner 
Adler,’ and I promised we should not keep them 
long.” 

Having, in obedience to this hint, almost choked 
themselves over their coffee, and once more made sure 
that their hats were sitting fast, mother and daughter 
raced for the hired carriage, which, ready furnished 
with provisions and wraps, was waiting at the inn- 
door. 

In front of the ^^Griiner Adler,” the two English- 
men were already in position. 

^^It is too kind of you — are you really going to 
show us a battle?” meltingly enquired Frau Eisner, 
as General Kussel was introduced. 

I have some hopes of doing so. It is pretty clear 
by this time that the enemy’s chief attack is going to 
be directed towards the left wing of Army 1 ; we can- 
not go far wrong, therefore, by placing ourselves on 
the south ridge of the Pleser valley. Mind you follow 
me closely, Herr Eisner, or I can promise nothing.” 

In the abnormally crowded streets, along which 
eager sightseers were pouring in, and on every con- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


179 


ceivable sort of vehicle — their own feet included — 
the injunction was far from superfluous. The usually 
so modest and retiring Eeising seemed, all at once, 
to have taken upon itself the bustle and importance 
of a capital; the excitement of the last phase of the 
great military game seemed to have caught even the 
most indifferent. 

It was an excitement which spread far over the 
country roads, and even on to the grassy eminence to- 
wards which General EusseFs unerring instinct 
guided his little party, and upon which a few groups 
of spectators had already begun to collect. As yet 
they had had but little to gaze at but the sea of white 
mist in which the wide landscape had been wrapped 
since early morning, above whose surface the observa- 
tion balloon soared as yet useless, and from which 
only the higher ridges and here and there a church 
spire emerged; but when precisely at half-past nine 
the Eisner party reached the small plateau, the white 
waves had begun slowly to roll away towards the hori- 
zon, and the red and yellow of the autumn-tinted 
woods, glistening with the double brilliancy of sun- 
shine and of freshly drenched leaves, to break through 
the heavy veil. Even now, with streaks of mist still 
trailing in the valley, hovering more densely along 
the line of the river, the advantages of the position 
chosen were evident, and became more so as every few 
minutes disclosed more of the bodies of troops that 
were preparing to engage in the coming contest. 
Large portions of the first, defending, as well as of 
the second, attacking army were clearly to be distin- 
guished with the naked eye, while a field-glass sufficed 


180 the blood-tax. 

to enable the General to identify most of the troops 
engaged. 

That is the thirty-ninth division over there, in a 
line with the forest ; and that group I take to be the 
right wing of the forty-sixth division. The reserve 
of Army 1 has been ordered to the front, I see; it is 
making tremendous efforts to arrive in time for the 
attack, but I fancy the collision will take place before 
they reach. That artillery is being pushed forward 
at a desperate pace.^^ 

Oh, it is almost too exciting exclaimed Thekla 
in one of her accesses of mingled rapture and alarm, 
by far the strongest that had assailed her yet, since 
up to now she had seen but fragments of the picture 
which was beginning to unfold itself before her eyes. 
She had left the carriage and advanced to the edge 
of the small plateau, whose grassy surface, almost bare 
of trees, afforded an outlook from three sides, the 
view of the fourth only being blocked by a stretch of 
forest. 

Those dreadful cannons, they quite upset me 
sighed Frau Eisner, who had preferred to retain her 
seat, with its comfortable proximity to the provision 
basket. 

There is no doubt about its being a most interest- 
ing spectacle,^^ pronounced Herr Eisner. ^Tt almost 
* seems to me to verge on the — ^well, on the grand.’^ 
Millar alone said nothing, partly because he was 
too absorbed in looking through his field-glass, but 
also because he was not yet clear about his own im- 
pressions. Just at first, despite the extended view, 
he had not been satisfied. Those moving bodies of 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


181 


troops^ becoming more and more conspicuous as the 
mist rolled away, were numerous, certainly, but viewed 
from here, with the wide, undulating landscape 
around them, they appeared, in the first moment, to 
be almost as small as toy soldiers, of an insignificance 
that was well-nigh comical by comparison with the 
long, swelling lines of ground, the vast complexes of 
field among which they moved. Even the boom of 
the cannon — impossible to dwarf — seemed strangely 
out of proportion with these mannikins down there. 
It was one of the disappointments inseparable from 
distance, and it did not last. Already by degrees so 
small as to elude Millar’s own notice, both his eye 
and his mind were getting used to this apparent dis- 
proportion. The real size of those seeming mannikins, 
the real importance of their measured movements, 
began to be borne in upon him so irresistibly that 
before he had been standing there for an hour he 
found himself watching their every evolution with 
an interest as breathless as, if less exclamatory than, 
that of Thekla Eisner. It was no longer the land- 
scape that dominated them, but they who dominated 
the landscape. Despite the General’s comments, it 
was difficult for an outsider to get any clue to the 
plan of action below, difficult even to distinguish the 
two armies from each other; all that remained clear 
was that all these bodies of infantry, of which fresh 
ones were almost incessantly becoming visible, those 
lines of artillery, those fiying groups of cavalry — 
puppets mounted upon rats, they looked from here — 
were not moving at random, but in obedience to some 
one will, which acted upon them as directly as the 


182 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


will of the chess-player acts upon the pieces on the 
board, that they were not units, but parts of a whole, 
inseparable members of one body. 

And the more they began to swarm, the closer they 
drew together, the more did even the cool-blooded 
Millar feel the excitement of the moment gain upon 
him. This was somthing like the ^^big effect’^ which 
he had hungered after. 

The collision cannot be far off now,’^ presently 
said General Eussel. If I see aright, that is the 
Kaiser on the ridge over there.^^ 

The Kaiser Thekla gazed with awe-stricken 
eyes towards the group of mounted figures moving 
against the sky-line, among which other uniforms 
than German were to be distinguished — representa- 
tives of foreign armies who were sharing the place of 
honour. Millar, with the aid of his glass, could pick 
out the familiar scarlet jacket of the English military 
attach^ at Berlin, standing in close proximity to the 
dark-green tunic of his Eussian colleague. It was 
not Germany alone that was looking on, nor royalty 
alone, it was Europe as well. 

On this side of the valley, too, the ridge was grow- 
ing more lively, invaded ever more by the sightseers 
who had discovered its advantages. 

If only one could get a glimpse behind that tract 
of forest!” said the General, almost fretfully. ^Tt^s 
impossible to see from here whether they are bringing 
up any troops from the south. If so, we shall pres- 
ently be in a hot place.” 

Somehow or other the General as well as Millar 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


183 


perhaps thanks to Hedwig, had managed to identify 
themselves entirely with Army 1. 

Ah, here is someone who is sure to have informa- 
tion.^^ 

Millar, turning, perceived that Hedwig, with the 
eternally perspiring Johann behind her, had just 
emerged on to the plateau. 

Fraulein von Grunewalde, you have come just in 
time; I am sure you can tell us what is happening 
behind that square of wood. Are they going to catch 
us from that side, too 

Hedwig, as she checked her horse, gaily shook her 
head. 

Xo, General, they are not; it is we who are going 
to catch them. We found out in time that those 
trenches were a mere sham, intended to lure us into 
the belief that they felt too weak to attack, and during 
the night the commanding general moved two divi- 
sions up to strengthen his left wing. Without this 
discovery we should probably not have been able to 
stand our ground.^^ 

always suspected those trenches; but who was 
it who unmasked them 

^^One of the patrols of our regiment.^^ 

Oh, look, how terribly near those cannon are 
standing!’^ exclaimed Thekla, too absorbed in the 
spectacle below to pay any attention to the amazon’s 
presence. They are cannon, are they not ?” 

Take my glass, Fraulein Eisner, you will see bet- 
ter,” said Millar, her nearest neighbour. 

Hedwig’s head turned sharply. Eisner ? So, that 
was she? The name she had had by heart for long> 


184 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


but the face she had never yet seen. As she now 
gazed upon it her heart grew heavy within her ; what 
chance, indeed, could she, with her insignificant 
height, her irregular features, have against this 
golden-haired, perfect-limbed goddess? Yes, he had 
chosen well, if the soul was only half as beautiful as 
the body. 

That patrol almost deserves a laurel wreath,’^ the 
General was saying beside her. Under whose com- 
mand did it stand 

Hedwig glanced towards Thekla and did not imme- 
diately answer. It would be easy to pretend that she 
had not heard the question. She had almost resolved 
on evasion, when an irresistible curiosity pushed her 
to try the experiment of pronouncing the name. 

It was Lieutenant Pletze’s patrol,^^ she said, more 
distinctly than was quite necessary, and in the same 
moment found herself gazing into Thekla’s perturbed 
and astonished eyes. 

^^You know him?’^ Fraulein Eisner was asking, 
quite unmindful of the formality of introduction. 

^^I can’t help knowing him since he is in my 
father’s regiment,” said Hedwig, coldly. 

^^And he has done — something? I don’t quite 
understand.” 

He has obtained information which was very diffi- 
cult to obtain and very important. It is a great suc- 
cess for him. He is being congratulated on all sides.” 

Oh, I am so glad !” said Thekla, almost in the 
same tone in which Hedwig had said those same words 
yesterday; and for a moment, as the two girls looked 
at each other, there was a smile on either pair of lips. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


185 


only that Hedwig’s smile had a signification of its 
own, while Thekla’s blue eyes were all unconscious- 
ness. What could she know of Colonel von Grune- 
walde^s past plans, or of things which had been the 
common gossip of the regiment? 

A remark of General EusseFs put a rapid end to the 
brief dialogue. 

The order for the chief attack has evidently been 
given. Matters are going to look more lively now.” 

Instantly every scrap of attention turned again to 
the prospect below, over which, within the last five 
minutes, a new, almost ominous, animation had come. 
From over the crests of the ridges, from out of the 
strips of forest, from behind the shelter of houses, 
troops were pouring in what looked like endless suc- 
cession. Upon a small elevation close at hand, a 
battery, hitherto silent, began to rend the air with its 
portentous voice. It was almost too much for the 
military enthusiasm of poor Frau Eisner, who, with 
her hands over her ears, sank back resignedly among 
her cushions. The galloping horses of the orderlies, 
darting about from one troop to the other, began vis- 
ibly to multiply, varied by a good sprinkling of mes- 
sengers upon wheels. 

And always more men and more horses appearing 
as though stamped from the earth, long lines of them, 
compact bodies of them closing and unclosing, as the 
formation of the ground demanded, yet all moving as 
though guided by one hand. Sometimes a company 
of infantry starting up from behind a strip of brush- 
wood, to run, rifle in hand, across an open space, and 
drop again invisible when shelter was gained; some- 


186 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


times no more than a long line of flashes, followed by 
the rattle of the shots, to betray the presence of fight- 
ers. Occasionally, in the intervals between the firing, 
the hoarse hurrahs of the attacking bodies, rising from 
the plain below. The air began to smell of gun- 
powder, and the view at places to be obscured by the 
low-hanging cannon smoke. 

" I — I am almost frightened,” acknowledged 
Thekla. ^^Are they really not going to hurt each 
other ?” 

The question was scarcely as ridiculous as it 
sounded. Even a less lively imagination than Thekla’s 
might well, under this stress of impressions, have lost 
its bearings. No use just then in reminding oneself 
that those two masses of men, moving so relentlessly 
against each other, were not antagonists but com- 
rades, that their rifles were loaded with nothing more 
deadly than powder, and the edges of their swords not 
sharpened — human nerves, caught by the excitement 
of the contest, refused to accept these prosaic facts. 
The mere sight of this mass of men and of arms, 
heaped together upon so small a piece of the earth, and 
supported by this profusion of scientific appliances, 
the consciousness of the working of a vast yet minute 
organisation making itself felt through it all, was 
enough to produce a certain illogical tightening of 
the heart. True, these men were not killing each 
other, but they were exercising themselves in the art 
— doing their best to learn the killing trade in the 
most correct and effective manner. 

It wants only bloodshed to make it real,” thought 
Millar. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


187 


To him the strange sensation of dread was less 
vague in form than to the others, all his impressions 
crystallising, so to say, around one tangible thread of 
thought. These masses of troops, which he yet knew 
to represent an almost negligible quantity of the 
German army, had ended by awakening in him a 
feeling akin to panic. If merely to play at war looTced 
as formidable as this, what must war itself look like, 
with two million of men standing under arms instead 
of their twentieth fraction ? In his artificially-heated 
fancy those absent phalanxes seemed to rise from be- 
hind the actual ranks, swelling them to gigantic pro- 
portions, causing the air to ring with the tramp of 
their feet, and the landscape to shine with the glint 
of their rifie-barrels. And in his fancy too he saw 
the miniature army of red-coated soldiers, of whom 
only the future could say whether they would not one 
day stand opposed to these; although each one of 
them was a hero, what were their chances of not being 
drowned in the sea of foes ? 

Numbers! yes, numbers!’^ Millar found himself 
murmuring, forgetful of the source of the thought, 
while at a few paces off. General Kussel, with his glass 
to his eyes, and the calm but intense interest of the 
connoisseur, stood mutely observing. 

But it was not alone the consciousness of numbers 
that pressed upon Millar just now. More yet it was 
the spectacle of the splendid working of the huge 
machine before him, which spoke of the wide-awake 
readiness of the brain behind it. Some of the meth- 
ods by which the machine worked might come to be 
proved played out. Much of this magnificent show 


188 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


might be impossible on the battle-fields of the future ; 
yet to this British patriot the thought scarcely brought 
comfort, followed as it was by the intense conviction 
that this was merely a question of phases — of the lack 
of opportunity to test the new conditions, an oppor- 
tunity which South Africa was now giving, not to 
England alone, but to the world at large. And amongst 
those to profit from the object lesson this people would 
assuredly not be the last. The army which had 
brought the ^^old^^ warfare to its highest point of per- 
fection might be expected to do the same for the 
^^new’^; for the alertness was there, the eagerness to 
learn, the intensity of interest which, far more than 
any momentary detail of method, vouched for the 
efficiency of the gigantic instrument. 

If there are lessons lying in the air, these are the 
people to profit by them, and even although they be 
lost upon us,^^ thought Millar, still struggling with 
a nameless despondency. 

^^A quarter past twelve o’clock sighed Hedwig. 
^Tn a few minutes the signal for breaking off opera- 
tions will be given, I suppose. I know we shall beat 
them back if only they give us time. It would be too 
enraging to be stopped before our victory is unmistak- 
able. Oh, look, matters are becoming decisive now! 
Our infantry is advancing to meet the attack, and 
the cavalry has evidently been ordered to charge them 
in the flank. That is my father’s regiment ; they are 
the only dragoons on our side, you know. This group 
must have taken that farm-house for guiding their 
direction — the one with the four poplars behind it — 
but they will not reach it, I am sure they will not !” 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


189 


With beating heart Thekla followed the cavalry 
advance ; the regiment of the amazon^s father was also 
the regiment of Lieutenant Pletze — she had just 
heard so. Had he rejoined it, or was he still on 
patrol? Thekla could not even guess and did not 
venture to ask, as she looked with all her might to- 
wards the plain, vainly hoping to pick out of the body 
of riders the only one that interested her. 

^^Will that firing never stop?^^ lamented Frau 
Eisner, as a redoubled volley crashed through the air. 

Thekla uttered an exclamation of distress. "One 
of the horses is down 

" Put his foot into a hole, probably,^^ was the Gen- 
eraFs soothing explanation. 

"But look. General, look!” Thekla was. talking 
excitedly; "is that not one of the infantry soldiers 
lying on the ground over there near the farm-house ? 
They are picking him up, are they not ? What can 
have happened ?” 

" Over-fatigue, probably — ^it is scarcely hot enough 
for a sunstroke. Even mock war has its victims you 
see. If it had not, how could our ambulances show 
what they are worth?” 

" There is the signal !” exclaimed Hedwig, in a tone 
of exasperation, as from the ridge on which stood the 
Imperial staff a trumpet-blast rose upon the air, re- 
peated almost instantaneously from point to point, 
until the autumn landscape became hideous with a 
din of trumpet-blasts, carrying to the most distant 
troops the news that the great manoeuvres were over, 
and dying away behind the forests with the faintness 
of an echo. 


190 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


They might have given ns ten minutes more.” 

But which side has won ?” asked Thekla, be- 
wildered. 

Neither,” smiled the General. ^^Nobody ever 
wins outright in this particular class of warfare. I 
should say at a guess that Army 1 has had the best 
of it; but that point will not be decided until to- 
morrow at the official discussion.” 

And there is nothing more to see ?” 

Nothing but the dispersing of the troops. The 
firing has stopped already, you perceive.” 

Half an hour later the party had begun its home- 
ward journey in the same order in which it had come. 
Hedwig rode close behind the Eisner carriage, not 
only because her road was the same as theirs, but also 
because to prolong her view of Thekla Eisner afforded 
her a strange satisfaction. 

On the crowded road progress was slow; it was not 
until they had reached lower ground that a little more 
space was gained. Hedwig was about to put her horse 
into a trot when she became aware of a stand-still at 
the front. General Eussel, leaning from his seat, was 
talking to an oflBcer on horseback, while the Eisners, 
evidently impatient to get on, craned their necks en- 
quiringly. The officer was making some statement, 
accompanied by a good deal of gesticulation. 

What is it ?” asked Hedwig, coming up abreast of 
the first carriage. 

An accident, it seems — or rather several accidents. 
Several men have been hurt, and one officer.” 

Of the 30th Dragoons,” completed the horseman. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


191 


Lieutenant Pletze asked Hedwig, with the swift 
instinct of coming evil. 

The informant opened his eyes a little wider. 

Yes, it is he.^^ 

He fell from his horse 

^^Yes — it appears so; but it does not seem quite 
clear how it happened. At any rate, he is gravely 
hurt; but his case is not the worst. There is a man 
dead of the 108th Eegiment — of sunstroke, they say.^^ 
Where is he?^^ asked Hedwig, trying to repress 
the anguish in her voice; but in that moment, from 
the second carriage, pressing up alongside, a flood of 
questions poured. 

Something has happened to Lieutenant Pletze 
enquired Herr Eisner, too much flurried to conceal his 
tremulous interest in the question. 

I knew that it could not end without some mis- 
fortune moaned Frau Eisner, wringing her plump 
hands. ^^What have they done to the poor young 
man 

Thekla had not spoken yet, but looked from one 
person to the other with wide-open, terror-stricken 
eyes, as though appealing for help. 

He is badly hurt, either by his fall or from some 
other cause. He had returned with his patrol not ten 
minutes before the last attack, just in time to join the 
movement. His horse did not fall, but he dropped 
from it suddenly, and they picked him up uncon- 
scious ; that is all I know.^^ 

Where is he asked Hedwig again. 

^^In that farm over there — the one with the four 


192 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


poplars. They brought him under the nearest shelter 
until the ambulance could come up.^^ 

I must go to him suddenly exclaimed Thekla, 
rising from her seat, while the colour began to flow 
back into her pale face. 

^^You are mad, Thekla!” said her father, with a 
shaky attempt at sternness. 

Frau Eisner was already tremulously wiping her 
eyes. 

Poor young man ! Poor young man ! I knew it 
would end badly.” 

^^Take me to him, mamma! He is dying, prob- 
ably; and if you will not take me I shall go alone. 
Nothing shall stop me — nothing !” 

Thekla spoke with flaming cheeks and marvellously 
shining eyes, rising for the second time from her seat 
as though to make good her words. It was evident 
that beside the one object in her mind nothing counted 
with her just now; the illusion of the fleld of battle 
had returned upon her with tenfold force. The 
mounted messenger of evil — a prosaic, broad-faced 
captain, he was — stared in a mixture of astonishment 
and admiration at her towering figure, then enquir- 
ingly towards General Eussel. 

Lieutenant Pletze is a friend of us all,” said the 
General, by way of saving the situation. There can 
be no harm in our enquiring after his present state.” 

^^By all means — by all means,” agreed Eisner, 
thankful for any compromise. 

Thekla sat down again, still breathing fast, and the 
carriages took the turn towards the farm-house. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


.193 


It was into a big wooden barn that the lieutenant 
had been carried, where he lay bedded upon freshly- 
mown hay. To himself it was not by any means clear 
where he was, when, opening his eyes after a long* in- 
terval of unconsciousness, he found Thekla Eisner’s 
beautiful face bending closely over his own. Short 
of struggling with her there had been no means of 
keeping her out of the barn, recognising which Eisner 
had resigned himself to giving to this painfully un- 
conventional meeting at least the sanction of his 
presence. 

Is he dying ? Is he d3ring ?” Thekla was asking, 
through the tears which, at sight of that prostrate 
form with the soldier’s cloak flung over it, had begun 
to flow. It was not thus that she had thought to set 
eyes upon her warrior. 

No, he is not dying,” said General Eussel, turn- 
ing from a rapid exchange of words with the doctor, 
in the course of which Millar had caught one or two 
expressions which mystified him strangely, as did also 
the sight of a red-stained shirt lying on the floor of 
the barn. Blood ? Why, that was the one thing which 
had been wanting all through to put upon the picture 
the seal of reality ! 

He is not dying, but he requires rest.” 

Come, Thekla !” urged Herr Eisner, whom the 
shocking conspicuousness of the incident was keeping 
upon thorns. ^^You have been told that there is no 
danger.” 

The lips of the stricken man were seen to move, but 
it was only Thekla who could hear him murmur. 


194 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


^Tarewell, my goddess as with a movement, pathet- 
ically uncertain by contrast with his usual vigour, he 
groped for her fingers. 

Outside, immovable, upon Asra — ^her forehead 
drawn into deep, painful lines — Hedwig von Grune- 
walde was waiting for news. On reaching the farm 
she had been for a moment on the point of dismount- 
ing, but just as she threw down the reins she perceived 
Thekla precipitately alighting from the carriage. It 
was as though she had remembered something. Gath- 
ering up the reins once more she sat waiting, with 
set features, upright and rigid. Word being brought 
her that Lieutenant Pletze was in no danger, she did 
not wait to lake leave of the others, but trotted away 
in silence, in the company of Johann alone. 

What was that the doctor was saying about a gun- 
shot wound asked Millar of the General, as they 
came together out of the barn. ^^You surely don’t 
mean to say 

That we load our rifies with bullets in manoeuvre 
time? We certainly don’t do that, and yet that’s a 
bullet in Lieutenant Pletze’s chest. Doctor Springer 
is not likely to make a mistake about that.” 

But how can you explain 

I am not trying to explain ; I am only stating the 
facts, which are that one man is dead and that three 
have been wounded in this morning’s work.” 

A mistake, I suppose ? Some bungling between 
war and peace ammunitions?” 

Perhaps,” said General Eussel, in a tone which 
by no means put Millar’s perplexities at rest. 


CHAPTER XV. 


^^Kaltenthal, September 30th, 1900. 

Dear Millar : — 

" I have been here for a week, paying my annual 
autumnal visit to my late wife^s relatives, and, leisure 
being rather more ample than usual, 1 mean to give 
you the benefit of a spare hour, as well as a few items 
of information, which I instinctively feel that you are 
expecting. 

When we parted last I think both our minds were 
full of the same thing — the accidents at the manoeu- 
vres. Very likely yours has been full of it since ; and, 
if I am not greatly mistaken, you have searched the 
newspapers and questioned every likely person you 
met in order to get at an explanation of this seemingly 
inexplicable incident. You will have done so in vain ; 
these things do not get into print, nor are they spoken 
of aloud in this German Fatherland. And yet your 
curiosity has a right to be satisfied, which is one of my 
reasons (I have two of them) for writing to-day. 

Here, then, are the facts of the case, so far as they 
have come to my knowledge, and with the additional 
remark that they are intended strictly for yourself 
alone. 

During the last attack, when private Steiner of 
the 108th Infantry Regiment dropped dead and Lieu- 
tenant Pletze fell suddenly from his horse, there was 


196 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


at first no suspicion at all of the cause of these acci- 
dents. Cases of sudden death have occurred ere this 
during the manoeuvres, since it requires a very sound 
Bet of heart nerves to withstand the amount of fatigue 
undergone by portions of the troops. But two other 
men had been hurt, although they did not fall ; and, 
although neither of them knew that he had been hit 
by a rifie-bullet, one complained of a sharp pain in 
his knee, the other in his shoulder. At the ambulance 
the truth was quickly discovered, but instantly and 
instinctively hushed up. Meanwhile the true nature 
of Lieutenant Pletze^s hurt had also been made clear, 
which led to a minute examination of the dead man, 
among whose thick hair the two small holes which 
the bullet had made in passing through his head, a 
little above the ear, were presently found. The next 
thing to examine was the premises, and these too 
brought their disclosures, for the big swing-gates of 
one of the farm outhouses — that poplar-backed farm 
which you doubtless remember — was found to be rid- 
dled with holes. A few bullets were picked up be- 
yond the barn itself. 

^^To decide where exactly these shots had come 
from was felt, from the first, to be a well-nigh hope- 
less task. Judging from the disposal of the troops 
during the final attack, and taking the probable bear- 
ings of the direction, it could only be concluded in a 
general way that the shots had been fired out of the 
ranks either of the 42nd, the 76th, or the 159th Eegi- 
ments. All of these had been completed by large 
bodies of reservists called in for the manoeuvre weeks, 
and, not unnaturally, it was these which were thought 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


197 


of, in first line. But how fasten suspicion upon one 
individual more than upon another, when aU have 
been acting, not as individuals at all, but only as 
atoms of one big whole ? That is why the — very dis- 
creet and guarded — enquiry which had perforce to be 
started, soon dropped, under the consciousness of its 
own impotence. The lamentable spread of socialistic 
and even anarchistic tendencies among the lower 
classes was sufficiently known already; what would 
there be gained by making public the startling fact 
that the anarchist monster had actually found means 
of using the uniform of his Majesty^s faithful soldiers 
as a mask for his purposes ? Perhaps you remember 
what I told you once about the passions raised in the 
breast of a true anarchist by the mere sight of an 
army? Those shots fired on September 14th can, in 
my opinion, only have been fired by one or by several 
army enemies — men, most likely, whose dislike to 
fulfilling their duties as reservists had been artificially 
fostered. A mere mistake about the ammunition, 
such as you suggested, is out of the question. The 
strictness of our regulations would preclude the idea, 
even if a close examination of the depots had not 
proved everything to be in perfect order there. A 
certain number of packets of war ammunition, care- 
fully stored and officially sealed up, lie indeed ready 
in such cases of emergency as, for instance, a serious 
riot; but not one of these had been either tampered 
with or removed. Those bullets, therefore, must have 
come from some outside source. What will you wager 
with me that the suppliers were also enemies of con- 
scription? I will not enlarge further on this theme, 


198 THE BLOOD -TAX. 

preferring to leave you to draw your own conclusions 
unaided. 

note without surprise the report of FrMein 
Eisner’s betrothal to Lieutenant Pletze. After that 
charming loss of self-control — charming even to such 
old eyes as mine — of which we were witness, it could 
not well have ended otherwise. 

And now I come to my second reason for writing. 
I promised once, when in the right humour, to jot 
down for you some of my own ideas regarding the 
details of that plan for obtaining a large army, with- 
out conscription in the Continental form, which has 
been advocated on more than one side; well, to-day 
I find myself in the right humour. 

Before starting, however, I must explain that 
when I say ^army’ I really mean ^armies’ ; for nothing 
seems clearer to me than that an Empire which stands 
upon five continents cannot depend upon one army 
alone. Close contact with your ^basis’ is given out 
even to our lieutenants as the fundamental principle 
of organisation in warfare; but when you have only 
one basis, and that is in London, what can the word 
mean to African or Asian troops? It follows that 
the Empire cannot be defended from London alone, 
and could not be, even with ten times our actual navy, 
since the weakening effect of distance can never be 
quite eliminated any more than can be the risks of sea 
journeys. If our scheme of Imperial defence is to be 
effective it must be comprehensive enough to embrace 
even the most distant and the most insignificant of the 
colonies. To follow up the question here would lead 
too far; bear in mind only that I plead for a multipli- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 199 

cation of bases and a resultant more equal distribu- 
tion of forces. 

The general outline of my idea as to how these 
forces should be raised you already have. Briefly put, 
it stands as follows : A skeleton army, of which the 
muscles, in time of war, are supplied by the nation, 
primitively trained by means of universal military 
education. 

The ideal result of the system would be to furnish 
the Empire, with every scholar having passed through 
an Elementary School, a future or possible rank-and- 
file soldier, a future or possible under officer with 
every frequenter of one of the Secondary Schools, and 
a future or possible officer in every High School stu- 
dent. No reason to jump to the conclusion that our 
schools are going to be transformed into barrack- 
yards ; the matter is not nearly so black as it appears 
at first sight. While the huge size of modern armies 
puts upon the leaders far heavier demands than was 
the case in former times, this same size greatly dimin- 
ishes the task of the subordinate individual, who vir- 
tually disappears in the mass. In one word, it has 
become far more difficult to command ; but far easier 
to obey. A minimum of military efficiency will suffice 
for the soldier nowadays, and this minimum I should 
propose to procure to him in the following manner : — 

In the Elementary Schools nothing more need be 
done than to substitute for the usual gymnastic exer- 
cises some of a more distinctly military character — 
such as marching in step, of moving in line, of smartly 
obeying certain words of command, of squaring shoul- 
ders and straightening backs — all highly beneficial 


200 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


things even if looked at merely from a hygienic point 
of view, and certain to become the favourite part of 
school-work. 

In the Secondary Schools these exercises should 
be carried further, and the study of the British equiv- 
alent for the German Exerzir Reglement be culti- 
vated, as well as the art of reading maps, which every 
educated Englishman should be able to read as easily 
as a book. Here also familiarity with the rifle should 
begin, for though I may have seemed to sneer at the 
would-be Wilhelm Tells, be sure that a shooting-class 
would have a prominent place in my programme. 
Though it led to familiarity only and to an ac- 
quaintance with the tremendous effects of modern 
weapons, it would — even without any ideal proficiency 
being attained — have served its end. Another desir- 
able thing would be the awakening of interest in 
military matters by a judiciously conducted study of 
History, and by the bringing home to youthful minds 
the fact that every historical event of any importance 
has been the direct consequence of military success. 
Are these demands of so revolutionary a character 
that they need frighten off the fathers of future 
scholars ? 

^^In the highest educational centres, the military 
knowledge gained would require to be enlarged only 
in those points which directly touch an officer's work, 
and only to that degree necessary to procure to him 
that minimum of efficiency of which I have already 
spoken. That this suffices has been proved over and 
over again by German reserve officers. Special studies, 
such as technical and medical, would generally deter- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


201 


mine the special branch of service in which the indi- 
vidual might eventually be employed. At the end of 
his term, a judiciously compiled military encyclo- 
paedia should be handed to each student in order to 
enable him privately to increase his military knowl- 
edge. 

Now as to the manner of making use of this mass 
of roughly prepared military material: My idea is 
that every British subject be liable, between his twen- 
tieth and his fortieth year, to be called to arms in case 
of war, taking his rank in the army according to his 
grade of education; and that up to his thirtieth year 
he be likewise liable to be called in three times for a 
course of exercises of four weeks^ duration each, dur- 
ing which the lower classes will have the opportunity 
of practically demonstrating what they know about 
a soldier’s duties, and the higher classes of showing 
what they are worth as officers. It is superfluous to 
point out that during the duration of the exercises 
this crowd of civilians — for I lay stress upon the point 
that they remain civilians — ^would have to submit to 
military discipline. 

Meanwhile the framework, slender and yet sub- 
stantial, of this huge amateur army — as it may please 
you to call it, would be welding itself more firmly, 
growing more perfect every year, for only its perfec- 
tion can give the guarantee that this mass of human 
material can, at the given moment, be brought into 
the desired shape, and moulded in the manner neces- 
sary. This rock-bed, or backbone, or whatever you 
choose to call it, must consist of volunteers alone, men 
who have chosen the profession of arms from convic- 


202 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


tion, and who have bound themselves for a sufficient 
number of years. Upon these, the peace soldiers, 
would fall the task of schooling what I may call the 
war soldiers, at the fixed drilling periods, of keeping 
the necessary registers, as well as watching over the 
preservation of the large stores of uniforms, arms, 
and other war appliances, which would, of course, 
have to lie constantly ready, as they do with the cadre 
of every regiment of every Continental army of any 
importance. Horses too can lie ready just as easily as 
rifies, if the German plan be adopted, with which by 
this time you are probably familiar. 

Objections to this scheme will be forthcoming, of 
course, in plenty. ^Nothing gained,^ says someone, 
^but a lot of inefficient soldiers.^ ^We shall never 
want so many,^ says another. 

Very true, we shall not want them. Considering 
that the British Empire, as I think I once pointed out 
to you, could raise something like two hundred and 
twenty army corps with far less strain upon the popu- 
lation than it costs Germany to raise twenty-three — 
(a little meditation on these figures will be instruc- 
tive, believe me), — and since nothing like that quan- 
tity can possibly be required, it is of course an almost 
negligible proportion of these primitively-trained 
young men who will ever make practical demonstra- 
tion of their training. What then? Show me, if 
you can, what we should have lost — even though we 
gain nothing — by giving to our boys a notion of dis- 
cipline, a touch of smartness, and the faculty of han- 
dling a rifie? Will Master John Bull succeed less 
well in life because he has learnt the value of punctu- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


203 


ality? Will his health suffer because he has been 
forced to hold himself straighter than he found con- 
venient ? 

And the cost ? I hear you ask. Ah, well, the cost, 
that is indeed the sore point of every scheme that 
deserves the name of one. The cost would not doubt 
be considerable, but not quite so alarming as it looks 
at a distance ; for that skeleton army of which I speak 
need not be bigger — my impression is that it could be 
considerably smaller — than our present actual army; 
neither do I pretend to indicate the figure to which, 
in time of need, it ought to be capable of expanding. 
Considering how much we spend now and how little 
we get for it — among European army budgets ours 
stands second, while in size our army ranks far behind 
even that of Italy — would it not be worth while to 
spend more in order to gain immeasurably ? Big ends 
cannot be reached by small means. If the Empire is 
proved to be too expensive a concern to run, then drop 
it, by all means ; only donT let yourself be lured into 
the belief that it can be run on indefinitely on the 
same identical lines as hitherto. 

To those who, like you, object to my scheme be- 
cause it is too little like conscription, I should like to 
point out that I by no means expect it to do everything 
for the army. For instance, I do not look to it for 
our supply of technical troops — ^nor should I fill our 
higher commands even with the best-born and best- 
educated of Var soldiers.^ It is the skeleton that 
must supply these. 

Those who object to the scheme because it is too 
like conscription, may partly be conciliated by the 


204 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


reflection that by the time a man is thirty, the debt 
of three times four weeks of his time which his coun- 
try claims would be paid off, and that by the time he 
is forty even the remote liability of having to take up 
arms is finally cancelled. 

To this class of objectors, I have yet a further con- 
cession to make, which occurs to me in the moment 
of writing. There is no reason that I can see why, in 
case of war, the first appeal should not be made to 
voluntary effort. Let the country say, in fact: ^We 
require soldiers; those who are willing may step for- 
ward. If their number is sufficient so much the bet- 
ter, if not, we shall complete it by compulsory enrol- 
ment — 

^ Und Jcommst du nicht willig so iraucJi icJi 
Gewaltr 

Knowing that she possesses this power of com- 
pulsion, and knowing also that even the most unlikely 
of the volunteers has mastered the A B C of his pro- 
fession, how much more serenely will England speak 
then than she is able to speak now, how much less 
inclined to scoff will be those enemies who now gloat, 
grinning over army figures ! 

Very rough ideas, these, and requiring correction 
at many points, no doubt. I give them you for what 
they are worth. If they help you to any conclusions, 
this last hour vrill have been well spent by 
Yours sincerely, 

Philip Eussel.” 


CHAPTER XVI. 


In the Eisners’ big reception-room several articles 
of furniture had been pushed aside to make room for 
the tall, well-shaped fir tree, chosen carefully out of 
the artificial forest which at this season springs up 
on every German market-place, large or small — for 
Christmas was close at hand, and the whole of the 
Fatherland making ready to celebrate what is the 
family feast par excellence. Xor did the Eisners lag 
behind their neighbours. Since Thekla had cele- 
brated her eighteenth birthday in the summer, there 
could not indeed be said to be any more children in 
the family; which was why Frau Eisner had found 
it more dignified to explain that she intended, on the 
26th, to give a Christmas treat on a big scale to all 
the children of all her acquaintances. There was, 
however, good reason to suppose that even if those 
acquaintances had all been childless, the tree would 
yet have been profusely decorated — ^^just for the fun 
of the thing,” as to herself Frau Eisner acknowledged. 

^Tt would not seem like Christmas, either to Thekla 
or to me, without a tree,” she explained, half apolo- 
getically, to Lieutenant Pletze, who, on the day before 
the ^^Holy Evening,” was giving the ladies his aid in 
the disposal of the last ornaments — ^^^and, once there 
is a tree, it has to be well filled up.” 

Although his hurt was more than three months old 


206 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


now, it was only within the last fortnight that Pletze 
had re-entered the Eisner house — in the body, that is 
to say, for the whole of his soul had dwelt there con- 
tinually, ever since the day on which Herr Eisner, 
summoned by a peremptory message, had returned 
from his sick-bed visit, agitated and radiant, and 
bringing the announcement of having solemnly prom- 
ised to the lieutenant his daughter in marriage. ' 

Without even consulting her,^^ finished the manu- ' 
facturer, with one of his helpless attempts at pleas- j 
antry, meant to mask an undignified emotion. 

And he insisted, too, upon its being made public | 
at once, before any chatter could get about concern- 
ing that — well, that little imprudence at the manoeu- J 
vres j 
In words there was no answer ; but the silent em- t 

brace in which mother and daughter were already \ 

holding each other said all that could possibly be said. > 

Then had passed many weary and yet ecstatic i 

weeks, during which Thekla had perforce to be con- 1 

tent to live upon the shadow of her dream. Although ! 

the wound was not dangerous, it was serious enough \ 

to necessitate a long seclusion, which — German ideas ' 

of propriety being what they are — ^meant for the j 

lovers complete separation. The preliminaries of the { 

engagement had indeed been startlingly unconven- 
tional; but that had not been Herr Eisner’s fault, 
and all the more was he determined that the engage- 
ment itself should be conducted on the most approved 
^^correct” principles. Thus it was that for more 
than two months notes and flowers and photographs 
formed the only visible links between Thekla and her 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


207 


invisible hero, of whom all Mannstadt already knew 
her to be the promised bride. Millar had known it 
even earlier than the rest of the world. When, two 
days after the return from Eeising, passing by an 
open window, he heard Thekla^s charming mezzo- 
soprano rapturously pouring out the words — 

Ich kann’s nicht fassen, nicht glauben, 

Es hat ein Traum mich beriickt: 

Wie hatt Er denn unter Allen 

Mich Arme erhoht und beglUckt! * 

he felt sure of the truth. 

The accident which was wanted has happened,^^ 
he said, with accurate divination. 

In these days existence was to Thekla as a dream, 
which, delicious in itself, was to have a more delicious 
awakening. The heaven might be very far overhead 
as yet, but at least it was cloudless — and yet no, not 
absolutely cloujdless, since in these long, idle hours 
of ecstatic anticipation there were moments in which 
certain rather inconvenient memories, raising their 
frail but obstinate heads, would whisper, ^^We are still 
here V’ But their stupid little attempts at irritation 
could not . seriously disturb a soul as serene as 
Thekla^s; indeed, but for the existence of one small 
but awkwardly tangible circumstance, she would 
probably have remained deaf to the whisperings of 
those small tongues, which, if they were not exactly 
tongues of conscience, were at least the voice of some 
portion of her soul not feeling itself in perfect har- 
mony with the rest. 

In the rapture of the first welcome, and the shock 


208 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


of alarm which the altered appearance of her fiance 
brought with it, all minor uneasinesses were forgotten. 
A man — ^more especially a man used to a large amount 
of fresh air— does not live in a room for two months 
without bearing the marks of the confinement. See- 
ing him so bleached and thin-cheeked Thekla could 
have cried for grief, if she had not already been crying 
for joy, and even while acknowledging to herself that 
the change was undeniably becoming. He had always 
looked a little too aggressively healthy, and what he 
had lost for the moment in vigour he had gained in 
the quality called ^finterest.” 

Since then his daily visits had made of him already 
a member of the family, so much so that when the 
Christmas tree was put up it seemed quite impossible 
to decorate it without his aid. It had been a time of 
radiant and undisguised happiness to every one con- 
cerned — ^to the beaming parents almost as much as to 
the young people themselves. The lieutenants erst- 
while scruples had been swallowed up so entirely in 
the rapture of his love that he sometimes found it 
difficult to believe that they had ever existed. He 
had done his best to escape from the happiness which 
Fate was thrusting upon him, but, finding himself 
beaten in the contest, was at the bottom of his soul 
far too much a natural man not naturally and simply 
to accept the gift for what it was worth. For the 
moment, at least, he had grasped the fact that so long 
as he was sure of himself the world^s esteem need not 
count. 

Do you want any more of these sugar sausages 
asked Frau Eisner^, on this 23rd of December, of the 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


209 


lieutenant who, standing upon a wooden chair, was 
hanging ornaments, both eatable and uneatable, upon 
every branch he could reach. His height made him 
particularly useful as a decorator, seeing that for him 
a chair sufficed where ordinary mortals would have 
required a ladder. Upon the big drawing-room table 
lay whole rows of chocolate animals and wheelbarrows 
and cannons ; regiments of sugar babies and of sugar 
fruit, of glass balls and of filigree baskets, were being 
ranged under Frau Eisner’s care, while Thekla, with 
an apronful of treasures, stood beside the chair, hand- 
ing up one piece after the other — an occupation which 
by no means excluded the possibility of getting one’s 
fingers significantly squeezed, or even of having one’s 
whole hand detained for a longer time than was rigor- 
ously necessary for the purpose of taking from it a 
piece of gingerbread. Good Frau Eisner was scarcely 
to be considered an obstacle to these harmless inter- 
ludes. Although etiquette prescribed the formality 
of her presence, her instincts — and perhaps her mem- 
ories — ^made of her the most convenient of chaperons, 
who, but for the strict orders received, would gladly 
have effaced herself altogether. 

Not that she was not enjoying herself almost as well 
as Thekla. Every new bag unpacked, every new dis- 
closure of tinsel stars, or flowers, or ships, threw her 
into a state of delight as great as though she had been 
ten years old instead of thirty-seven. The miniature 
lanterns amused her so much that she had to light one 
to see the effect; and the sugar babies very nearly 
tempted her into making one of those innocent but 
inelegant jokes to which even quite unfrivolous people 


210 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


— provided they are Germans — seem to be irresistibly 
pushed by the sight of an affianced couple. Fortu- 
nately the necessity of disentangling a mass of glitter- 
ing threads, destined to be draped about the fir bushes, 
took off her attention in time. 

They might have been cut off your head, my love,^^ 
said Pletze, with the audacity of an accepted lover, 
holding up the ends of one of the golden strands so 
as to let it catch the light. 

That dreadful snow V’ laughed Thekla, in order 
to cover her confusion — she could not yet bear his 
admiration calmly — '"we ought to have left it to the 
last.^^ 

"I daresay we oughV^ said the lieutenant, whose 
uniform likewise was richly powdered with the arti- 
ficial snowflakes. "It does not sting, like the real 
article, but it sticks far harder.^^ 

"I think the time is come for hanging up the 
angeV pronounced Frau Eisner ; "but even you will 
not manage without the ladder for that.'" 

The folding-ladder having been procured, and the 
plaster of Paris angel, blowing a tin trumpet and 
spreading spun-glass wings, handed up to the lieu- 
tenant, Frau Eisner stepped back for another com- 
prehensive view. 

" There are too few candles — I felt sure of it. This 
tree seems to eat them up. But I have some more 
up-stairs." 

She looked from Thekla to her lover, and then back 
again in obvious indecision, before she added — 

"You will not find them easily; I had better fetch 
them myself." 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


211 


At the door she turned. 

I shall not be gone a minute/^ she said, in a tone 
that contained all sorts of warnings, mixed with a 
trifle of supplication. 

After all, what harm could come of it ? For a brief 
abandonment of her post no moment could be better 
chosen than this one. The ladder was so high and so 
awkward, and he perched on the very top of it — ^why, 
he would scarcely have time even to kiss her hand 
comfortably before the chaperon was on them again. 

In point of fact he made no immediate attempt to 
do even this much. The closing of the door had in- 
deed very clearly brought home to his mind that 
almost for the flrst time since the engagement he was 
absolutely alone with his fiancee, but Frau ElsneFs 
veiled appeal had reminded him that he was being 
trusted, and he meant to act up to that trust, and even 
beyond it — if it did not prove too difficult. Which 
was the reason why he said in a wonderfully sober 
tone : ^^That angel is all right, I think ; but there are 
lots of empty places up here; since I am hoisted so 
high already I had better fill them up. What can 
you give me for the purpose 

These silver cones, perhaps; ah, and here is a 
whole packet of chocolate guns; you had better stick 
them up there among the branches where I shall not 
see them ; I detest guns.^^ 

Since when?^^ he asked, laughing. 

Since the manoeuvres, of course. They remind 
me of that dreadful moment.^^ 

She never spoke of the shooting accident otherwise 
than as ^That dreadful moment.^^ In her imagina- 


212 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


tion it loomed even bigger than the reality had done. 
A hundred times already she had questioned Pletze 
on his sensations, both mental and physical, refusing 
to be satisfied with his light-hearted replies. It 
suited her to dwell on the risk which he had run, and 
which vaguely magnified for her the figure of her hero. 

One would think you took a special pleasure in 
harassing your own nerves,^^ he now said gaily as he 
took the chocolate guns from her hands. Besides, 
I have told you that the dreadfulness looked far bigger 
than it was.^^ 

Thekla got almost a little angry. She did not like 
to have her ideas disarranged. 

Perhaps you want to prove to me that it is not a 
dreadful thing to get a bullet in the middle of your 
chest 

Considering the consequences for myself, I should 
say it was about the best thing that could happen to 
a man,” said Pletze stolidly, yet with a shadow of 
malice peeping from under his yellow moustache. 

Thekla hung her head, reddening under the signifi- 
cance of the glance which had come from the top of 
the ladder. 

Oh, don^t remind me ! I did not know what I 
was doing. I wonder what you really thought of me 
then ?” 

thought that perhaps you cared for me one 
quarter as much as I had cared for you ever since the 
press ball.” 

IPs a wonder how well you managed to keep your 
secret,” said Thekla, with a pout that was also a smile, 
for he had not really managed to keep it at all. 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


213 


Oh, that was all idiocy/^ pronounced the lieu- 
tenant, with a wave of the arm so comprehensive that 
the folding-ladder came in danger of toppling over. 
^^When a man^s good luck is too great, you see, it’s 
rather apt to injure his powers of reasoning.” 

Ever since the press ball !” Thekla fell into a 
moment of blissful reflection, out of which grew that 
fearful, hesitating question which is bound to be asked 
at one stage or the other of every engagement. 

And before that, Conrad? Did you really never 
care for anybody before ?” 

Never in that way,” he said, after a pause of con- 
scientious reflection. 

^^Are there different ways of caring ?” she asked, but 
before he had time to reply, added quickly : ^^Yes, I 
know that there are.” 

You know that there are?” There was a sudden 
astonishment in the eyes that looked down upon her. 

I mean — I can quite understand that one can like 
a person without — without being in love with him.” 

Thekla broke off in confusion, busying herself with 
the bonbons in her apron. All at once she seemed to 
have come to a resolution. 

Oh, Conrad, I want so much to tell you some- 
thing !” she exclaimed, raising her eyes full to his. 

In an alarm which put upon his whole frame a 
sudden immobility, he looked down at her, startled 
for one moment by the flood of red sweeping her fore- 
head, reassured in the next by the helpless candour 
of the eyes. 

Tell it me,” he said gently. 

^^Not while you are up there; I should have to 


214 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


speak too loud. Oh, Conrad, take care for already 
he was descending the ladder with a perilous precipi- 
tancy, catching his spurs in the steps, and dropping 
a handful of the chocolate guns, which went to pieces 
unheeded upon the polished floor. 

And now, let us hear all about it,^’ he said with a 
smile meant to reassure himself as much as her — 
^fl)efore we are interrupted,^^ he added, with an appre- 
hensive glance towards the door. 

Those extra candles had evidently been much more 
difficult to And than Frau Eisner had expected; in 
his heart the lieutenant prayed that they might not 
be forthcoming for just another flve minutes. He 
had drawn Thekla down beside him on the sofa, and 
was looking at her enquiringly, repressing his impa- 
tience at sight of her disturbance, and holding her 
hand in his, as though to give her courage. And she 
needed it, poor child, ignorant as she was of the prob- 
able import of what she was about to say, too little 
acquainted with his individuality to know what judg- 
ment to expect of him, yet determined, all the same, 
to be done with this oppressive secret, the one point 
which had not been cleared up between them, the one 
thing that kept her from the full enjoyment of her 
happiness. So good an opportunity might not come 
again for long; who knew when the accidents of 
chaperonage would afford another tete-d-tete ? 

In hurried, unsteady words, she began to tell him 
of her acquaintance with Gustav Hort, and of the 
interest which his theories had aroused in her. 

His theories far more than himself, you know/^ 
she anxiously explained, and added, as though in fur- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


215 


ther apology — ^^even mamma liked to listen to him 
when he began to speak so eloquently of the wrongs 
of the poor.^^ 

Pletze listened gravely, still holding her hand. He 
was waiting. This could not be all. The fresh, fra- 
grant scent of the pine branches, hanging as though 
distilled upon the warm air of the room, wrapped him 
round as he sat there, listening, taking vague notice 
the while of the feathery artificial snowflake which 
had got caught upon Thekla^s sleeve, and of the one 
long thread of golden tinsel — ^not more golden than 
her hair — which lay across her breast. 

Did he — ^that man — ever take any liberties with 
you?^^ he asked abruptly, in a far harder voice than 
she had ever known in him. 

Thekla flushed scarlet. ^^Oh, Conrad — ^never ! How 
would he dare 

But he was in love with you, was he not 
I — I am afraid so.^^ 

And your 

I liked him, he interested me. I even thought I 
liked him very much until I saw you, and then every- 
thing else ceased to exist, and he of course also.’^ 

Will you swear to me that he never kissed you?’^ 
Xot even the tips of my fingers ! I should have 
died of shame if he had tried to.^^ 

It was impossible to doubt either her tone or her 
eyes. 

And if I try to asked Pletze gaily, like a man 
suddenly delivered of a load, and catching her quickly 
to himself — really it was not his fault if those candles 
took such an unreasonable time to find. 


216 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


I wonder what can be the pleasure of giving me 
such a fright/" he said presently, as Thekla was trying 
to get her hair to lie smooth again. am really 
sorry for that poor devil of an engineer, but I don’t 
see why we need spoil our humour by talking about 
him.” 

It was Thekla now who took hold of his hand. 

That is not quite all, Conrad,” she faltered in a 
great hurry, for overhead a door was heard closing. 

He never took any liberties — ^in that way, but once 
he wrote to me — with a pamphlet which he sent me.” 

A mere note, I suppose,” suggested Pletze quickly. 
^^Why did he not write to your mother?” 

That is just it, Conrad. Mamma knew nothing 
about it ; it was not exactly a note, you see — in fact it 
was what he said in it about the future, and about the 
sort of social reform work which only a man and 
woman working together can hope to accomplish, that 
first made me understand that he cared for me.” 

And you?” asked Pletze, just as he had asked be- 
fore, and with a quick return of the same coldness. 

I — I answered it. Xo, Conrad, don’t let go my 
hand, or I shall never have the courage to finish. 
There was nothing wrong in the letter; of course I 
quite ignored his hints about the future, and only 
thanked him for the pamphlet, and spoke about the 
interest I felt in the subject; but still I did answer 
him, and in secret, too, and it is the thought of this 
that I cannot quite get rid of — the thought of that 
letter of mine which perhaps he has kept and which 
perhaps gave him a false impression. How do I know 
what use he may make of it some day ? I have been 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


217 


wanting to tell you about it ever since we were en- 
gaged, but I never had the chance until to-day. It 
was wrong of me to write that letter, was it not 

It was, at any rate, very imprudent,^^ said Pletze, 
speaking still in the ungracious tone of a jealousy that 
is not entirely quieted, and yet already half disarmed 
by the convincing candour of the appeal. 

The blue of Thekla’s eyes turned suddenly grey 
with tears. 

I thought you would say so ! I suppose I shall 
never be quite happy again ; how can I be if I cannot 
get back that letter?” 

You shall get it back !” said Pletze, impulsively 
catching hold again of both her hands, and peering 
earnestly into her face, while his own lips quivered. 
He was one of those men who are constitutionally 
unable to bear a woman’s tears ; at sight of those wet 
eyes his last resistance was gone. 

Thekla stared, not understanding. ^^Get it back? 
How can I?” 

I myself will bring it you.” 

Her eyes grew wider yet, with affright, it would 
seem. 

But what are you going to do ? Fight a duel with 
him ?” 

He burst into a relieving laugh. After all she was 
only a child, and for a child’s foolishness there was an- 
other measure than for a woman’s follies. 

^^Xo, I am not going to fight a duel; we don’t 
manage everything by duels in the army. I daresay 
I shall find means to induce this man, who appears to 
be a gentleman, to hand over the letter quite peace- 


218 the blood-tax. 

fully, or else to give me the assurance of its destruc- 
tion.” 

But, Conrad 

Xo objections, my sweet one, or I shall think you 
are afraid of my seeing the contents of that letter.” 
He looked at her with a remnant of suspicion, which, 
once more, could not hold before the sincerity of her 
eyes. 

Only give me his name and address and leave the 
rest to me.” Then, more hurriedly, because of the 
approaching footsteps, shall hurt him as little as 
I can manage, be sure of that.” 

I positively thought those candles had been stolen 
since yesterday,” announced Frau Eisner, bustling in 
heated and a little breathless, her hands full of paste- 
board boxes and her chaperon’s conscience obviously 
troubled. have not been away very long, have I ? 
Oh, you are done with the angel, I see,” and she threw 
an apprehensive glance at the couple on the sofa. 

^^With the angel and with other things as well,” 
said Pletze calmly as he rose to relieve her of the 
boxes. 

Just before leaving he found an opportunity for a 
few more private words with his fiancee. 

Thekla, with her own hands, was brushing from his 
coat the flakes of the troublesome ^^snow” which clung 
so obstinately to the blue surface. It was a labour of 
love in more senses than one — ^her feeling towards the 
^^double-coloured cloth” which represented for her all 
the glory and all the power of the army had always 
been an almost personal one. cannot bear to see 
even a speck upon your uniform,” she had said with 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


219 


smiling pride, as she took the brush in hand. While 
she plied it carefully Pletze contrived to whisper: — 
I shall bring it you to-morrow ; it shall be my 
Christmas present to you. What do you say ? Although 
it costs nothing, peace of mind is not a bad sort of 
Christmas present, is it 


CHAPTER XVIL 


But Lieutenant Pletze’s Christmas present to 
Thekla was, after all, to cost a heavier price than 
either of them supposed. 

The winter afternoon was beginning to close in as 
he left the Eisners’ house, and large flakes of snow — 
not an artiflcial snow this, but real, genuine flakes 
which both stung and chilled — ^began to thicken the 
air and hurry on darkness. 

The weather is in my favour,” thought the lieu- 
tenant, as he turned up the collar of his cloak well 
above his ears. ^^All the chances in the world of flnd- 
ing him at home.” 

In this he calculated rightly, for Gustav Hort, just 
then, was at home, engaged — while Pletze began to 
thread unknown streets in quest of the exceedingly 
out-of-the-way address which Thekla had given him — 
with another and quite a different sort of visitor, 
whose appearance had evidently not been welcome; 
for the engineer, seated, pencil in hand, before his 
shabby writing-table, with a half-covered sheet of 
paper before him, was listening with visible impa- 
tience to the plaints being poured into his ears. 

^^But, my good fellow, what do you expect me to 
do, after all ?” he asked at last, amused and irritated, 
yet on the whole more irritated than amused ; am 
neither your Mariedl’s grandpapa nor her nurse ; and 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


221 


if she finds that one adorer is too little for her taste, 
I don’t see how I can prevent it, even if I do happen 
to live on the same fioor.” 

This was not the first time that Franz Knopf had 
come to him with his tale of love, which latterly had 
been turning into a tale of woe. As long ago as last 
June, when still working at the local line, now com- 
pleted, Hort had known that this apple-cheeked Ben- 
jamin among his workmen had exchanged vows with 
the bright-eyed servant girl who represented the en- 
tire domestic establishment of his neighbours on the 
third floor. Perhaps it was because he indirectly 
owed his first acquaintance with Mariedl to Hort that 
the youthful and by no means reticent lover had, 
from the first, marked down the engineer as a con- 
fidant. 

If it had not been for that letter last spring, who 
knows whether I would have set eyes upon her !” he 
had in those days rapturously exclaimed, referring to 
a message from the railway authorities to the engi- 
neer, with which he had been entrusted, and which 
for the first time had led him to the gaunt, isolated 
house at the end of the half-finished street. Having 
set eyes upon her he had come again so frequently, 
and at such short intervals, that Mariedl, succumbing 
to so many yards of ribbon and so many tinsel 
brooches, had before the end of a month promised an 
eternal faithfulness. 

So far as Franz knew she had kept her promise 
pretty well throughout the summer, but lately there 
had been grave grounds for suspecting the perfect 
singleness of her affections, and more especially since 


222 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


a certain extremely smart hussar corporal had been 
seen to haunt the deserted street, having apparently, 
with the proverbial instinct of hussars in these mat- 
ters, succeeded in scenting the treasure hidden in this 
unlikely spot. 

^^And when I question her she only laughs!” 
groaned Franz, ^^and pretends not to understand. 
And yet I know he comes to the house — I have seen 
him, and who else could he be after except my Mariedl, 
seeing that she’s the only pretty girl within the four 
walls? Oh, Herr Hort, I know what it is — I know 
what it is quite well — it’s Just what you told us in 
summer; she’s gone mad after the uniform, in the 
way you told us that the women are apt to do — and 
some fine day she’ll turn her back upon me and go off 
arm in arm with her Kussar. It was only yesterday 
she was taunting me with having no hair on my lip 
yet — lie, that miner of girls, has got a moustache as 
black as the devil’s tail, and as thick, too. But I’m 
not quite the baby they take me for ; before he gets his 
desire I’ll break his great stupid head for him — ^yes. 
I’ll break it, in spite of his sword ! Let me but catch 
him at it I” 

You have my best wishes in the enterprise,” said 
Hort with somewhat distant sympathy, for he had 
lately heard rather more about Mariedl and her doings 
than he felt any desire to. ^^But meanwhile, I don’t 
quite see how standing here and talking can further 
your object. I have wotk to do, my good fellow, and 
should be very much obliged if you would leave me 
alone.” 

I’m going. Master, I’m going ; I only wanted to 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


223 


ease myself a little. But let me but catch him at it — 
that^s all I sayT^ 

And with his two big, boyish fists suggestively 
clinched, Franz made for the door. 

Hort got up to light the lamp — the same tin lamp 
which had illuminated his first interview with Millar, 
and not burning any brighter for having another 
year’s work behind its rickety and ill-cared-for per- 
son. Outside a sort of daylight still lingered, but 
thanks to the snowflakes which the wind drove 
straight against the window-panes, to stick there in 
white blotches, it was no longer possible to work with- 
out a lamp. This work, too, required care and pre- 
cision, being a technical drawing destined to figure in 
a competition from which Hort hoped to secure fresh 
employment, for engineers in Germany are even more 
plentiful than engineering jobs, and since the comple- 
tion of the newest local line Hort had been living on 
his meagre savings. 

But his desire to get on with the drawing was not 
the only reason of his somewhat curt dismissal of his 
erstwhile" favourite Franz. That reference to the 
summer and to some of the things which had been 
spoken in the shadow of the railway embankment, 
had, curiously enough, not been to his taste. Not 
that he would have willingly unsaid any of those 
words — that would be to imply that his convictions 
had moved, and he knew that they had not — ^but that 
they brought with them an unpleasant recollection. 

From the moment that the first whisper touching 
the true cause of the accidents at the manoeuvres had 
begun to run — and of course it ran, despite cen** 


224 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


sure and police — Hort had guessed — no, he had 
known, where those shots had come from. For a few 
days consternation pure and simple had possession of 
him. Never, in his most impassioned harangues 
against the order of the world, had he foreseen such 
a result as this. His deep and rather paradoxical 
antipathy to physical violence of any sort, in any 
shape, turned him almost sick at the thought of the 
blood which his words had caused to flow; for that 
this thing was his doing, that the blood had flowed, 
indirectly, at his command, of this he felt no reason- 
able doubt. He had only to think of that last after- 
noon before the manoeuvres to recall the sombre, at- 
tentive faces turned upon him, as he spoke, in order 
to feel the certainty. Even although he could not 
quite remember what he had said, he had kept the 
recollection of those sinister glances — a reflection, no 
doubt of his own — and knew that the words which 
kindled them could have been no light ones. For the 
first time he realised that during all this summer he 
had virtually been preaching vulgar murder, he, whose 
fundamental principle had always been the elimina- 
tion of violence. 

The shock of the discovery sufficed for a little time 
to disarrange the current of his ideas. He was con- 
scious of no upsetting of principles — what was bad 
before could not become good now, simply because 
something else was also proved to be bad. The ends 
which he had always had before him were still before 
him, but for the first time he paused to ask himself 
whether he were indeed pursuing the right road to- 
wards them. His hatred of the supreme uniform was 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


225 


not lessened by one whit, but he could not but rec- 
ognise that this was not the way to get rid of it. So 
long as murderers were about the timid would con- 
tinue to cry out for the necessity of armed protection. 
His mistake had been to overlook the innate brutality 
of uneducated human nature — he saw that now. But 
the right way must be somewhere ; he had been vaguely 
puzzling over it since then. Everything within him, 
the aspirations, the impatience, even the indignation, 
had received a momentary check; it was a period of 
mental stagnation which must inevitably pass, and 
from which he might emerge either with his face 
turned towards another road, or else might start anew 
along the same track as hitherto, and with an even 
more impetuous step, his scruples brushed from him 
by the hardening process of a surprise got over, an 
experience that has been weathered. 

Meanwhile the recollections of the summer re- 
mained irksome, and had helped to make Franz 
Knopfs presence irksome to-night, just as though his 
boyish chatter touched upon a sore point. How far 
the personal element entered into the soreness he pre- 
ferred not to examine. Certainly, if anything was 
wanting to increase the irony of the situation, it was 
to be found in the fact that those unlawful bullets had 
been the direct cause of hurrying on the event which 
he would gladly have given his life to avert. Certain 
remarks let fall by Millar could leave no doubt on the 
subject. The reflection was one certainly not calcu- 
lated to reconcile him to the working methods of such 
disciples as, for instance, Giacomo Alesta. 

The tin lamp was lit at last, and Hort again at his 


226 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


table. But before he had been at work for two min- 
utes he raised his head impatiently. Another knock 
at the door — was he to have no peace at all this 
evening ? 

In answer to his ungracious ^^Who is there the 
knock was repeated, a little more peremptorily. With 
a muttered oath Hort rose and opened, to find himself 
confronted by a tall, cloaked figure, of which a mere 
strip of face was visible between the cap and the high, 
turned-up collar, and on whose shoulders unmelted 
snowflakes clung. 

Does Herr Hort live here ?” asked an unknown 
voice, a little indistinctly, because of the collar. 

^^Have you business with him 
I have.^^ 

Without waiting for a further invitation, the vis- 
itor made a quick step into the room, removing his 
snow-laden cap as he did so and turning down his 
collar. 

Allow me to introduce myself,^^ he said, with a 
grave simplicity which sat singularly well upon the 
big man; — ^^Lieutenant Pletze, of the 20th Dra- 
goons.^^ 

Hort, without knowing it, had made a step back- 
wards. It was very much as though he had received 
a slap right in the middle of his face. In the gloom 
of the doorway he had done no more than dimly 
divine a uniform — that alone was astonishment 
enough — ^but what was it to the shock of finding that 
the man now standing in his own room, having quietly 
closed the door behind him, was the one man of all 
others whom to avoid he would gladly have walked a 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


227 


mile barefoot upon sharp stones, — ^the one man in the 
whole world whom he was absolutely sure of hating. 
What preposterous chance had led him hither ? Had 
he eome for the sole purpose of parading his triumph ? 
of gloating over a rivaFs defeat ? 

There passed a minute while the lieutenant brushed 
the snow somewhat over-carefully from his cap, and 
during which the instincts of the natural and of the 
cultured man struggled wildly behind Horfs imper- 
fectly composed countenance. The former could see 
only the enemy, the rival standing in his path, and 
cried out for instant avengement, for violence, yes, 
for blood if need be ; while the latter shrank fearfully 
from the discourtesy of so much as a rough word to 
the guest who, of his own free will, had stepped across 
his threshold. 

What can I serve you with he asked coldly after 
that pause. 

shall not trouble you long. I have not come 
for myself, but on behalf of Fraulein Eisner, to whom 
I am engaged to be married, and with whom I believe 
you are acquainted.^^ 

Hort nodded silently, turning a little pale, unable 
to imagine what was coming. 

She is very young as you know — quite a child ; 
and it seems that she is rather troubled in her mind 
about a note which she once wrote to you, thanking 
you for a book which you had been kind enough to 
lend her. Her mother did not know about it, it ap- 
pears, and she is so much of a child that she imagines 
— quite groundlessly, of course — that disagreeables 
might come of it. I have therefore promised, in order 


228 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


to put her mind at rest, to bring her hack that note — ^if 
you have it stilF’ — he added with elaborate care- 
lessness. 

He had told his story lightly, almost smilingly, 
studiously ignoring any possibility of a serious inter- 
pretation of an incident which he had evidently made 
up his mind to treat as of no consequence. And diffi- 
cult though it was to him not to look the person he 
was speaking to straight in the eyes, he had somehow 
managed to avoid letting his gaze dwell too persist- 
ently either upon the strained face before him or upon 
the poverty-marked details of the dreary little apart- 
ment, never drearier than in this undecided mixture 
of lamplight and daylight — the one duskily yellow, 
the other as depressingly grey as though the face of 
the departing day had remained inquisitively glued 
to the curtainless window. 

It was not a long speech, yet Hort, as he listened, 
had time to live through more emotions than belong 
to an ordinary hour. He was far too sensitive not 
quickly to have pierced the motive of that over- 
accentuated lightness of tone, and not to have under- 
stood the delicacy of those awkwardly averted glances, 
which seemed so anxious to see nothing either of the 
disturbance on the face before him or of the gaps in 
the cover of the ginger-coloured sofa. To acknowl- 
edge that he was at all moved by those observations 
would have been a little too absurd, but he had made 
them — that was bad enough, and although he knew it 
not, another reflection was complicating his sensa- 
tions just now. Although in one sense he was this 
man’s victim, in another and more material one the 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


229 


man had very nearly become his victim. Let the 
bullet but have gone but the fraction of an inch 
straighter to its mark, and for the rest of his life, 
though suspected by no one, he would have known 
himself to be a murderer. He was thinking of this 
now as he looked into the officer’s face and marked 
there the traces of recent suifering, barely overcome. 
A little of that youthful ruddiness, a little of that 
triumphant vigour which Hort had kept in memory 
ever since the only other time when he had seen him 
near, was wiped away for the moment. No doubt she 
loved him all the better for it — and at the mere 
thought of the pity now added to the love, he felt the 
hardness settling back upon him. What was this 
man asking of him? That he should give back the 
note, the one poor favour she had ever granted him ? 
Did he take him for an imbecile? Why should he 
yield up his only weapon of revenge? The thought 
of it disturbed her, did it? So much the better; he 
had never thought of making use of it in any way, 
but it held more possibilities than he had supposed. 
If by its means he could spoil her happiness — and 
this man’s — ever so little, then it was more precious 
even than he had held it. 

She is so much of a child that she imagines — 
quite groundlessly, of course — ^that disagreeables 
might come of it.” 

As Pletze said it something abruptly readjusted 
itself within Hort’s moral self. ^^Why, quite ground- 
lessly? Because he takes for granted that I’m not a 
blackguard,” was the immediate inner answer, and 
together with it came the vision of those humbly- 


230 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


pleading eyes which she had lifted to him on the last 
day they had been together, and when also he had 
tried a turn at the game of disturbing her peace. 

Bah — he is right he said to himself in a mo- 
ment of inner reaction against the contemplated base- 
ness. ^^She is no more than a child, and child-torture 
is not fair play.^^ 

Yes, I have got it still,^^ he said after what had 
not seemed to the lieutenant to be a very long pause. 

Going back to his table he unlocked a drawer, 
placing himself so that his visitor could not observe 
the contents, among which various scraps of ribbon 
and one or two faded flowers — relics of which Thekla 
herself did not suspect the existence — led a jealously- 
guarded existence. For the second time this evening 
he was experiencing how heavily the instincts of a gen- 
tleman are apt to hamper the actions of a man. 

Here,^^ he said, returning, and with a nonchalance 
as well played as though he were not tearing a page 
out of the book of his life, he held out the folded note. 

Thank you,^^ said the lieutenant, as simply as the 
other had spoken, and then, without having quite 
meant to do it, he put out his hand. 

Considering the size of the very substantial mem- 
ber, it was almost impossible to pretend not to see it ; 
yet Hort, struck apparently with momentary blind- 
ness, looked straight past it. He did not want to 
take this man^s hand, but whether it was because he 
was going to be Thekla ElsneFs husband, or whether 
he himself had so very nearly become his murderer, 
he could not at that moment have deflned. 

The lieutenant was already at the door when Hort, 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


231 


in his turn, did something which was to him at least 
as inexplicable as had been the officer’s impulsive 
gesture. 

You have been ill, have you not?” he asked ab- 
ruptly, and rather ungraciously, just as Pletze turned 
the handle, mean since the manoeuvres ?” 

^"Yes, I have been ill,” said the lieutenant, standing 
still in the doorway, ^^a fall from my horse — nothing 
serious.” 

And you are sure of quite recovering your 
health?” 

Oh, dear me, yes — quite.” 

He stood looking at the engineer for a moment, evi- 
dently more surprised than pleased at the question; 
then, seeing that nothing more was coming, bowed 
again and went out. 

They’ll succeed in barbarising him in time, no 
doubt,” was the reflection with which several minutes 
later Hort went back to his work. ^^But they haven’t 
quite done it yet.” 

If Giacomo Alesta, who in his more confldential 
moments was apt to tell his friends that Signor Hort’s 
head was all right, but that his heart was too soft ever 
to make a good revolutionary, could have heard the 
remark, it is probable that he would have found him- 
self strengthened in his opinion. 

Downstairs in the dark entrance Franz Knopf 
waited with quivering muscles and boiling blood. He 
could not say how long he had been there ; it seemed 
to him that it must have been at least an hour ago that 
he had seen that cloaked figure go up the staircase — 
up and up, as far as the third storey — ah, he had made 


232 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


sure of that. Would he never come down again? Oh, 
Mariedl, Mariedl! if blood were shed to-day, on the 
very eve of the Holy Evening, then on thy silky-brown 
head let it be ! 

The step at last! the ringing step of a spurred 
foot, which he had waited for so long! There was 
no lamp on the landing, but, by the dregs of daylight 
coming in through the open door, Franz could dis- 
tinguish the long cloak, and the tall collar being 
turned up in preparation for the blast outside. And 
how gaily he stepped, how unconcernedly, this black- 
hearted, black-moustachioed seducer of girls. 

The spurred foot had scarcely left the lowest step 
of the staircase when, tingling in every nerve, blind 
with jealous rage, Franz pounced out of his dark cor- 
ner, and, with all the strength of his young arm, dealt 
the supposed hussar so tremendous a cuff on the side 
of his head that for a moment he himself reeled in the 
recoil of the blow. 

Before he had quite recovered, he found himself 
staring into a pair of eyes that in this moment were 
not even angry, only supremely startled, and in close 
proximity to a moustache that instead of being coal- 
black, as it should have been, was, even in this half- 
light, to be distinguished as fair. 

^'Heiliger Himmeir said Franz aloud, just before 
adopting what seemed to him the only solution of the 
situation, that is, taking to his heels; for the dis- 
covery that he had boxed the wrong man’s ears had 
sufficed to transform bloodthirstiness into abject 
alarm. 

All down the length of the deserted street he ran at 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


233 


the top of his speed, with the snow flying in his eyes 
and closely pursued by ringing footsteps — as a man 
runs who suspects a murderer at his heels, or like a 
thief flying from justice — so much like a thief, that 
when he had turned the corner of the next and quite 
as deserted street, a passer-by, startled by the sight of 
this figure flying through the dark, raised the instinc- 
tive cry : Stop thief ! 

As though in answer to it, the omnipresent German 
policeman seemed to start from the pavement, straight 
across Franz Knopfs road, to whom in his extremity 
— for the spurred footsteps had turned the corner too, 
ominously near — he appeared to be not a policeman 
but a sort of guardian angel, and to have come not 
from the pavement but from the skies. Partly because 
of his terror, and partly because he could not stop him- 
self, it was straight into these official arms that he ran, 
and only just in time, for the avenger had all but 
touched him. 

Halt ! said the helmeted guardian angel to the 
pursuer. One word only, but enough. At the sound 
of it the bare, raised sword dropped as though struck 
down by a blow, yet not without a protest. 

Leave him to me, policeman! You must leave 
him to me — I have been insulted ! panted Pletze, 
with all the breath which the wild run had left him. 

The organ of peace peered through the double veil 
of falling dusk and falling snow, and saluted, but did 
not flinch. 

I beg your pardon, Herr lieutenant, this man is 
under arrest; I cannot allow him to be touched. If 
you have a complaint against him, you can bring it 


234 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


forward at the police-station, where I am going to 
take him to have his most suspicious conduct in- 
vestigated.’^ 

But it must be now — now !” almost shouted the 
lieutenant, whose eyes were rolling, and whose bare 
sword was still in his hand. 

^^What does he want to do to the poor fellow?” 
asked another of the passers-by; standing still, and 
abruptly, Pletze realised that he had become the 
centre of one of those groups which even the least- 
frequented streets seem able to furnish whenever any- 
thing in the shape of a brawl is to be witnessed. 

To cut him in pieces, probably,” jeered some anti- 
military element in the group. ^^Look how his teeth 
are chattering in his head !” 

Poor boy !” the murmur arose, and more than one 
vindictive glance was turned upon the sword, still 
gleaming naked through the thickening shadows. 

Your name, lieutenant, if you please ?” asked the 
policeman, unmoved by any considerations lying out- 
side the routine of duty. 

Lieutenant Pletze, of the 30th Dragoons.” 

He had said the words almost automatically, in in- 
stinctive obedience to what was a legal demand, but, 
having pronounced them, he would have taken them 
back if he could. Xot that that could alter anything 
now, as he grimly told himself, but that another shade 
of publicity was added to the unfortunate incident. 
It was getting too public already, as the increasing 
size of the group around him proclaimed. To escape, 
to disappear, to avoid all further notice was the one 
thing which his instinct pointed out to him, not as a 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


235 


means of moral salvation for himself — confusedly and 
yet infallibly he knew that he was lost — but as the 
only hope of shielding his uniform from further 
insult. 

Eapidly sheathing his sword, with fingers that still 
shook with excitement, Pletze strode from the spot, 
his pulses hammering, his mind full of a deep, yet 
scarcely articulate despair. 


CHAPTER XVIII. 


Next evening, under the brilliantly-lighted Christ- 
mas tree, Pletze laid the recovered note in Thekla’s 
hand, and read the smiling gratitude in her eyes — 
but not with the joyful sensations which he had an- 
ticipated. 

A terrible day lay behind him, and a still more 
terrible night — a night which he had spent in his 
clothes, and on his feet, mentally grappling with this 
new and startling situation. A hundred times in 
memory he had gone over those ten bewildering min- 
utes in the dark yesterday, in the endeavour to find a 
point at which he might have acted otherwise than 
he had done; to discover some one preventable cir- 
cumstance about the episode. 

It had all passed with such inconceivable swiftness. 
The peaceful light-hearted descent of the staircase, 
with the ominous note safely stowed in his pocket — 
then the dark landing, and the sudden assault break- 
ing straight in upon blissful anticipations of the little 
scene to come under the Christmas tree. Momen- 
tarily stunned by the force of the blow, it had taken 
him a minute even to understand what had happened. 
Having understood it he was conscious of only one 
thought — ^the one that leaps to the mind of every 
wearer of the German uniform who feels himself as 
much as rudely touched — his sword. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


237 


But the sword was under the cloak and the cloak 
was fastened; long before he had got it in his grasp 
the man had fled^ and again the heavy, clinging cloak 
had been in his way, impeding him at every step of 
the pursuit which had ended abruptly before the 
policeman’s ^Halt!” 

Oh, the agonised eagerness of that chase with a 
hundred wild thoughts in the background of his mind, 
but only one standing out distinctly before his con- 
sciousness — ^Tf I do not reach him I am lost !” Then 
the pain of failing breath and the added stab of the 
reflection : cannot run as I used to — if it had not 

been for that bullet I would have got him.” 

It was one of those brief spaces into which Life 
amuses itself to pack half the emotions it has at its 
command. 

Could he have acted differently? Without rest his 
mind was forced to return to the question, only to feel 
more plainly each time the absolute helplessness of 
the human atom, of whom Fate has chosen to make 
a plaything. Openly to resist an organ of the law 
had seemed, even in the height of his excitement, 
impossible to his notions of discipline. It seemed so 
to him still, although he knew that had that police- 
man been only ten yards further off — ^just far enough 
to allow the avenging sword to draw only one drop 
of blood — the whole incident would, for him per- 
sonally, have lost its critical signiflcance. It had 
wanted but that to wipe out the insult, which, under 
the actual circumstances, was not wiped out, and 
could not be, according to the army code of honour, 
by any amount of subsequent bloodshed. 


238 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


For one wild moment he had asked himself whether 
oblivion might not serve the same purpose — but that 
had been before he had time to think clearly. Even 
though the policeman might not have heard his name 
aright, or had forgotten it, and even although not 
another word should ever transpire touching what 
was, after all, an extremely trivial incident, this could 
make no vital difference. Though no other mortal 
should ever know the truth, he knew it himself ; and 
to stand among his comrades with this knowledge, 
would be to stand among them as a traitor. Even 
the ignominious ache on the side of his head, where 
the thickness of his hair mercifully masked an unde-* 
niable bump, told him that the thing was impossible — 
and more plainly still the moral smart of that unre- 
turned blow, to which the physical was as nothing. 
Long before daylight had come he had resolved upon 
what seemed to him the only possible course of action. 
From whatever point of view he examined the matter 
he could see no hope anywhere — and yet, because the 
circumstances were so exceptional and so extraordi- 
nary, because he could not recall any exactly similar 
case, on the model of which to draw the consequences 
— but principally because he was young and wanted 
to be happy, he managed in some manner, inexplicable 
to himself, to keep hold during that long awful night 
of some feeble thread of hope. 

He did not lose hold of it entirely even after his 
interview with Colonel von Grunewalde, which took 
place as early on the following forenoon as regula- 
tions allowed^ 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


239 


When he had told his story plainly and shortly, 
though with a black cloud before his eyes, and with 
lips that all his strength of will would not keep steady, 
there was one brief moment in which he felt almost 
happy. A load had dropped from his soul. At least 
the secrecy was done with, the humiliating conscious- 
ness which had been choking him all night. He was 
quite sure now of not being capable of hiding the 
stain which he had indeed not deserved, but which, 
nevertheless, he had incurred. It was a moment of 
respite, but it passed like a rent in clouds that part 
only to close again. During the short silence that 
followed upon his statement he was fighting another 
battle. In the long watches of the night he had set- 
tled even the words in which he would tender his re- 
quest for dismissal from the army — since to forestall 
the inevitable would surely be less ignominious than to 
wait until it broke in upon him — but now that the 
moment had come the words refused to be spoken. In 
that anxious pause the image of a girl’s face pushed 
itself between him and what he recognised as his duty. 
The terror of having his request granted on the spot, 
of having to meet Thekla that evening under the 
Christmas tree as another man already — a man with- 
out a uniform and without a profession — kept him 
silent. If it had been any other day of all the year 
but just this one he would have spoken — ^he knew it ; 
but the desire to remain himself for this one beautiful 
evening was too strong for him. It would be time 
enough to do the thing to-morrow, if it had to be 
done; and although in his innermost heart he knew 


240 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


that there was nothing to hope for, he yet held his 
breath as he gazed into his coloneFs face, as though 
to spell out there his verdict. 

Von Grunewalde had listened with his gaze fixed 
hard upon the opposite wall, and occupied, apparently, 
in endeavouring to chew his grey moustache to pulp. 
Upon his skin-and-bone countenance irritation and 
distress were written large. The thing most capable 
of upsetting his clockwork equanimity was the faintest 
breath of scandal passing ever so lightly over the 20th 
Dragoons. With all the strength of his narrow but 
immovable soul he loved his regiment, and, despite 
the disappointment he owed him, he liked this young 
man — all the more reason for turning furiously upon 
him if he had got both himself and the regiment into 
a mess. 

In the name of all that is preposterous, what 
makes you visit out-of-the-way houses after dark, I 
should like to know? And — if you have to do so — 
you have your sword, have you not? Could you not 
have got at it a little quicker?’^ 

I suppose I could if I had been warned in time,’’ 
said Pletze, with the unconscious irony of hopeless- 
ness; ^^but my collar was turned up, and the cloak 
was terribly in my way. It was altogether a question 
of about half a minute.” 

Enough,” said the colonel after another interval, 
during which he had put a few brief questions, and 
speaking now with forced quiet, do not require to 
hear more just now. You have done what was your 
duty. When I have made the necessary enquiries, I 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 241 

shall send for you again ; you had better keep yourself 
in readiness.^^ 

There was nothing to do hut to salute and retire, 
and after that to wait. He was waiting still even un- 
der the Christmas tree, with that glimmer of hope still 
faintly discernible somewhere on his horizon, but with 
a presentiment that was stronger than it, and which 
he could not lose sight of even in Thekla^s presence, 
and which dimmed for him both the radiance of her 
eyes and of hundreds of lighted candles in the fir- 
branches overhead, fastened there so joyfully only 
yesterday. He shrank from throwing a shadow upon 
the gaiety of the family feast, yet despite his efforts 
Thekla questioned him, and the task of smiling away 
her anxious enquiries as to whether anything had hap- 
pened, added another torture to the mental sufferings 
of the past twenty-four hours*. 

The expectedisummons next day was almost a relief. 

Colonel von Grunewalde having, as on the first oc- 
casion, sent out his adjutant, received the young offi- 
cer alone in his office. Just at first he said no word, 
hut with an even more wooden face than usual, pushed 
toward^ him an official-looking document, from whose 
phrasing Pletze learnt that the police authorities 
desired to be informed concerning an assault made 
on December 23rd, by a certain Franz Knopf upon 
Lieutenant Pletze. 

^^The idiot has confessed, too,^^ said the colonel 
with a twitch of irritation passing over his masklike 
face, and fingering the while an open newspaper be- 
side him. ^^It seems that he took you for a hussar 


242 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


corporal who is courting some kitchen-maid or other, 
whom he means to marry. He is quite ready, appar- 
ently, to tear out all his hair in his desperation at the 
mistake,^’ and von Grunewalde laughed a dry and 
singularly joyless laugh; ^^as if that could do any 
good now! Bead this,’^ and taking the police docu- 
ment from Pletze’s nerveless fingers, he handed him 
the paper he had been fidgetting with for the last 
minute, and on whose open page Pletze read as head- 
ing of a leading article : — 

Peace on earth to men of goodwill 
With a rapidity of which he had not known himself 
capable his eyes fiew down the lines, taking in their 
sense by intuition rather than by comprehension. No 
name was mentioned, but neither was any required to 
let him recognise himself in the dragoon lieutenant 
who, according to the words of this radical organ, 
^^had been stopped barely in time from desecrating 
the peace of the feast of peace by staining the stones 
of our pavement with such another blood-bath as the 
one whose shuddering recollection is still fresh in our 
memories. So long as such excesses are permitted,’^ 
wound up the inspired leader, ^^the angels in the skies 
may sing themselves hoarse, without being able to 
bestow peace upon men either of good or of bad will 
Very softly Pletze laid back the paper on the table. 
A sudden sense of quiet had settled down upon him. 
This, at least, made everything quite clear. He was 
aware of the colonels eye fixed upon him with a cer- 
tain dumb enquiry, a certain furtive anxiety of which 
he knew the exact cause and extent, and his one care 
in this moment was to say the decisive word before — 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


243 


directly or indirectly — it were suggested to him. 
Never had he looked his superior straighter in the 
face than as he said: — 

understand perfectly. Will you please accept 
my request for the permission to lay down my title 
of officer ? My written application shall be handed 
in immediately.^^ He seemed to be suffocating as he 
added : ^Tt will be better so for the regiment.^^ 

The change upon the colonel’s wooden countenance 
might possibly have appeared almost comical to a by- 
stander — had there been one; to Pletze the transfor- 
mation from anxiety to relief appeared so natural that 
it scarcely even wounded him. The old soldier was 
evidently fighting with a very real emotion as, before 
speaking, he put out his bony hand. 

^^Very well,” he said a little indistinctly. ^Tt is 
what I expected of you. Of course it is better for the 
regiment — incomparably better — and for you the end 
must have been the same, since no court of honour 
could have acquiesced in your keeping your place in 
the army. You have fallen a victim to a ridiculous 
combination of circumstances, and if the assurance 
of my personal esteem can be any comfort to you, 
allow me to give it you here.” 

The dumb and vigorous handshake that followed 
made many things good between those two men. 

It was as well that Pletze had nothing more to say, 
since at that moment he would most certainly have 
had no voice to say it in. 

He had thought that surely this would have been 
the worst moment, but he was mistaken. There were 
worse moments to come in the course of this bril- 


244 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


liantly frosty Christmas day, during which almost 
every half-hour brought some comrade to his door, 
fresh from the news of his misfortune, overflowing 
with sincerest sympathy, burning with indignation 
against the fate which had taken the shape of Franz 
Knopf, but one and all bowing before the inevitable. 
Upon all their faces, however, disturbed by the emo- 
tions of friendship, even in those eyes in which the 
glitter of a frank tear of fellow-feeling was to be dis- 
cerned, Pletze read the same rapture of gratitude of 
which he had seen the reflection upon Colonel von 
Grunewalde’s countenance ; gratitude for having 
spared the regiment the disagreeable eclat of a court 
of honour, always so detrimental to its reputation, for 
having gone forward to meet that fate which could 
not have failed to overtake him. In their delight at 
having escaped the odium of publicity, of seeing the 
honour of the regiment shielded from the vulgar gaze, 
and in their relief at being spared the terrible duty of 
pronouncing his verdict, even those who had not been 
his special intimates grew warm towards him. They 
could not tire in extolling the perfect correctness of 
his bearing under the blow of the catastrophe; they 
were ready to praise him, to cajole him, to make the 
most of him in every possible way — so long only as he 
ceased to be one of them, and took himself and his 
unfortunate box-on-the-ear as quietly as possible out 
of the glorious ranks of the 20th Dragoons. For this 
one day Pletze seemed to have become the spoilt child 
of the regiment which, while sincerely relieved to be 
rid of him, was as sincerely proud of his attitude — 
the only one which was worthy of one of ^Them.^^ 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


245 


Down to the youngest lieutenant among them there 
was not one who did not feel personally — though per- 
haps unconsciously — flattered by this new proof of 
how upright stood the traditions of the regiment they 
were so proud to belong to. It was hard, but of course 
it could not be otherwise — such was the tenor of their 
most effusive speeches. Not a word through it all 
which even distantly implied that any other course 
would have been compatible with self-esteem — such 
as it was understood in the 20th Dragoons. Pletze, 
as he listened to them, knew that what, during twenty- 
four hours, he had mistaken for a shimmer of hope, 
had been nothing but a shimmer of madness. 

When the last of them was gone, he sank down 
heavily onto the nearest chair. Until now he had 
kept up bravely, saved, no doubt, by the habit of dis- 
cipline. But now that there were no more eyes to 
watch him, why keep up the unbearable strain ? The 
intentions of all those impetuous comforters had been 
excellent, but they had succeeded only in flxing his 
depression; all their good-natured chatter, all that 
inundation of sympathy, had served to make him 
realise more distinctly what it was that he had lost. 
As he sat there with his head in his hands slowly 
rocking his big body from side to side, with that crav- 
ing after mechanical movement of some sort in which 
alone certain phases of emotion seem to And relief — he 
had a sensation that was almost physical, that of 
everything slipping away from him, as tangibly as any 
material object can slip through one^s Angers — every- 
thing that had made life glorious and good ; the past 
as well as the future, his memories as well as his 


246 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


hopes, his comrades as well as his occupation, his very 
place in the world — all, all was gone or on the point 
of going. 

All? He did not yet raise his head, but the me- 
chanical movement stopped. Through the black of 
enclosing shadows a ray of light, coming as though 
from some golden, resplendent star, and piercing to 
the very bottom of his despair, had suddenly shone. 
Thekla ! How could everything be lost, so long as she 
lived and loved him? A momentary warmth stole 
over his poor, chilled heart. It glowed for a brief 
space, deliciously, then almost imperceptibly faded, 
touched by the chill of a new question : — 

“ But how will she bear this ?” 

Again he sat still, plunged in intense, furiously 
working thought. Suddenly he rose and began to 
look about wildly for his cap. It had come over him 
that he could not pass the night without having the 
answer to that question. He would go to her now, 
at once, and would tell her the worst. If there was 
consolation for him anywhere it could only be in the 
assurance of her unaltered love. 

He found his cap and stretched out for his sword, 
but in the very act of touching it his hand fell to his 
side. TFas it his sword any longer? By what title 
could he still belt it round him? Would not any of 
his comrades he met in the street have the right to 
order him to give it up? He stood for a moment in 
deep thought, then leaving both sword and cap un- 
touched, began to pace heavily about the little room. 
At least he would wait until it was dark. It was too 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


247 


late to-day to procure himself other clothes, but dark- 
ness must serve him for once more. 

In another hour darkness had come, but still found 
him pacing between the four walls — from the window 
to the stove, from the stove back again to the window 
— as though driven with whips. He could have gone 
out now, without much fear of being recognised, but 
he no longer thought of going. By dint of walking 
about and of thinking he had come to the conclusion 
that the announcement he had to make would be more 
fitly made by writing. Of Thekla^s love he could not 
doubt, but he did not feel strong enough yet to witness 
her consternation, to read in her eyes the inevitable 
disappointment, which of course the poor child would 
not be able to conceal. Also, in this long hour of 
reflection, another possibility had occurred to him — 
that of the parents^ probable opposition to the mar- 
riage. This seemed so evident that he only wondered 
at not having seen it at once. Were they even bound 
to keep their given word under present circumstances ? 
Pletze himself could not see that they were. The real 
root of Elsner^s almost reverential esteem for his 
person had long been clear to him ; doubtless he would 
put pressure upon his daughter. Very likely there 
was a struggle preparing, and all at once it seemed 
to him that to act without the father’s knowledge, to 
take her resolution by assault, as it were, in virtue 
perhaps of an excess of pity, would not be fair play. 

^^It is the father who shall know first,” he said, 
aloud, standing still before his writing-table. ^^And 
to her I will not go — ^unless she calls me.” 


248 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


Nevertheless his face was not all gloom as he sat 
down without further delay to write the note he had 
resolved on ; for in his heart he was saying : — 

She will call me 


CHAPTER XIX. 


In the Eisner house that evening, under the shadow 
of the now half dismantled Christmas tree, conster- 
nation reigned supreme. The note, which a little after 
dark had been brought to the house, had briefly but 
very clearly put Herr Eisner in possession of the chief 
facts of the case, explaining the encounter on the 23rd, 
and signalling the impending dismissal from the 
army. 

Under these circumstances,^^ wrote Pletze, in a 
language whose formality betrayed nothing of the 
inner rebellion in which the words had been penned, 
of course, recognise that I have no longer the right 
to insist on the fulfilment of the promise made to me 
by your daughter. My military career is at an end, 
and as it would take me many years to qualify for 
another it comes to this, that I have nothing to offer 
her in return for what she brings me. As a man of 
honour I feel that I have no choice but to give her 
back her word — should she so desire it. I await your 
decision and hers. — Conrad Pletze.^^ 

He had written ^^Lieutenant” after the signature, 
and again blotted it out with an almost savage stroke 
of the pen. 

With this note in his hand, Eisner had made a 
precipitate entry to the drawing-room, and, regardless 


250 the blood-tax. 

of Thekla’s presence, had flung it down before his 
wife. 

That had been ten minutes ago, and still the dis- 
cussion, too agitated and incoherent to be dignifled 
by the name of family council, had not got beyond 
the first stage of helpless and hopeless perplexity. 
Herr Eisner’s original impulse had been to go off 
straight in quest of a verbal explanation, but the 
instinctive prudence of the business man had quickly 
intervened. Why add the awkwardness of a personal 
interview to an already precarious situation? 

Forced to quit the army ! Forced to quit the 
army!” he had repeated some twenty times already 
and in every imaginable tone, as though he were ex- 
perimenting on the sound of the words. And just 
as Pletze himself had sought relief in motion, so now 
was Eisner walking aimlessly about the room, at the 
risk of upsetting every chair that stood in his way, 
and heedlessly brushing his shoulder against the wide- 
spread branches of the Christmas tree, to the grave 
detriment of his coat, whose decent blackness was 
sadly disfigured by the adhesive snowflakes. 

^^That means, of course, that he is no longer an 
officer ; but what is he, then — what is he, if he is not 
an officer?” 

Eisner looked with angry enquiry from his wife to 
his daughter, and back again to his wife, as though 
peremptorily demanding an explanation, which Frau 
Eisner, at least, was not in a fit state to give. Her 
pocket-handkerchief was her usual refuge in moments 
of emotion, and she had been sobbing behind it now 
for some minutes, capable only of murmuring in ac- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


251 


cents that seemed to have been shaken up in a sack : 
^Toor young man! Poor young man!^^ 

Thekla was not crying, and had not spoken. Very 
white and quiet she sat there with her handkerchief 
twisted to a cord and laid tightly round her knees, 
nothing about her moving except her eyes, which, 
wide and affrighted as they readily became under the 
influence of surprise, followed her father about the 
room as closely as though she were afraid of losing 
sight of him. 

What on earth has he been doing to be forced to 
quit the army? All this story he tells me about an 
assault — a stupid mistake, he calls it — is an easy 
explanation, but how do I know if iPs the right one ? 
IPs just as likely that he’s been simply dismissed !” 

I’m sure he’s not done anything bad,” gasped out 
Frau Eisner in the fulness of her swelling heart. 

^^He’s done something stupid, then; a man does 
not get dismissed from the army with as little reason 
as a footman gets dismissed from his service. Sup- 
posing he did get a box-on-the-ear that was not meant 
for him, could he not have kept quiet about it, instead 
of making all fhis fuss ? It can only be his own fault, 
after all — ^yes, it can certainly only be his own fault !” 
repeated Eisner, with a tenacity intended to convince 
himself. It would simplify matters so extremely if 
he could convince himself that the unfortunate young 
man deserved his fate. 

^^His career is at an end — he says it himself,” 
resumed Eisner after another minute, during which 
he had made another round of the big room, followed 
by the sound of his wife’s gentle sobs, and by Thekla’s 


252 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


affrighted eyes. Before the big mirror he stood still 
— under the impression, perhaps, that he was looking 
out of a window, and, with his hands behind his back, 
drew a deep, agitated breath. 

It is a mercy, at any rate, that he has the decency 
to acknowledge the position.^" 

As he said it he caught sight of his own face in the 
glass, and was alarmed by its look. It could only be 
because for the first time in his life he had entirely 
lost sight of that just milieu which it was his habit to 
maintain, even in moments of emotion, that that face 
opposite seemed almost like the face of a stranger. 
Then, realising that this was a looking-glass and not 
a window, he looked beyond, and saw Thekla still 
sitting in the same attitude with the handkerchief 
twisted round her knees. A sudden curiosity as to 
the effect of his last words upon her had come over 
him, and apparently over her mother, too, for Frau 
Eisner, emerging behind her handkerchief, was gazing 
at her daughter with tearful enquiry; but in those 
panic-stricken eyes — the alarmed, almost empty eyes 
of a frightened child — there was nothing yet to be 
read. Turning away from the mirror, Eisner resumed 
his walk about the room, more slowly and deliberately, 
as having realised the necessity of at least a semblance 
of self-control. 

Forced to quit the army ! What will he do now, 
I wonder ? He says himself that it will take him years 
to qualify for another career. What can he possibly 
do now?’^ 

For the first time since the beginning of the dis- 
cussion Thekla moved perceptibly. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


253 


Why should he do anything she asked, and 
with the words a flame leaped to her cheek and a 
spark to her eye. ^Have I not got money enough for 
us both?^^ 

He will not be base enough to take your money, 
now that you can no longer be his wife.” 

Papa r 

The word rang through the room, as Thekla rose 
impetuously to her feet. 

Is that what you think ? Is that what you take 
me for? That I should drop him just when he is 
unhappy, just when he needs me most? Xo, no — I 
shall never do that ! Xever !” 

She looked exactly as she had looked on the day 
when she had insisted on being taken to the wounded 
lieutenant — drawn to her full height, as it seemed to 
be her instinct in moments like this, as though the 
better to bring to bear the whole force of her beauty 
upon the obstacle before her — superb and dazzling 
as she became in these rare times, when the mildness 
of her face was touched with passion. 

You are mad, Thekla!” ejaculated Eisner, stand- 
ing still before her, astonished at her beauty, but far 
more incensed by her words. 

Quiet yourself, my child !” murmured Frau 
Eisner, to whose ease-loving soul even the shadow of 
a conflict was fraught with terrors. 

With a convulsive effort at calmness, Eisner spoke 
again. 

^^You don’t know what you are saying, Thekla. 
You don’t seem to understand that the situation is 
entirely changed — he says so himself. The Lieu- 


254 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


tenant Pletze to whom I promised your hand does not 
exist any longer — there is only a Herr Pletze. He 
is not a lieutenant now, he is nothing at all.^^ 

He is the same man who loves me, and whom I 
love,” said Thekla, with an obstinate uplifting of her 
magnificent head. ‘^Xo, mamma — I cannot quiet 
myself, not while I hear such things said about him. 
You must understand surely; tell papa, explain to 
him that one cannot change one’s feelings so quickly, 
just like a pair of gloves — and because of an accident, 
which was not even his fault — ah, why don’t you tell 
him ? Don’t you understand ?” 

understand — ah, yes, I understand,” faltered 
Frau Eisner, a little shamefacedly; ^^of course, you 
will suffer — it is a terrible ending; but what your 
father says is true — everything is changed.” 

Although it was an exceedingly soft heart, it was, 
after all, but a very small soul which dwelt in that 
big, handsome body. Yet she had the grace to redden 
under the gaze of reproachful astonishment which 
Thekla turned upon her, as though she were saying ; 
^^You, too, mamma?” 

^^It is no end at all, I tell you, since I am not 
going to take back the word he offers me. If we 
were both poor it might be different, but since I am 
rich 

You are not rich yet, foolish child !” said Eisner, 
making towards her a step that was almost a threat. 
^^My money is my own yet, to do what I like with, 
and if you imagine that I am going to put it into the 
hands of a man who has made so lamentable a failure 
of his life, a man who is only not expelled from the 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


255 


army because he prefers to forestall his fate — to whose 
name a certain degree of disgrace, whether deserved 

or undeserved, will always remain attached 

Stop, papa, stop ! I am engaged to him V’ cried 
Thekla, pale to the lips with indignation, an indigna- 
tion that was not for herself, but only for him. That 
distant threat of disinheritance had scarcely moved 
her — her nerves were far too highly strung just then 
to let her even fully grasp the import of the words ; 
and, besides, what could money mean to one who had 
never known its want ? 

^^You are not engaged to him, since without my 
consent you cannot marry him, and that you shall 
never have.^^ 

Eisner himself had pains in recognising either the 
words or the voice as his own. With such absence of 
hesitation, with so entire a disregard of all qualifying 
admissions, he could not remember having ever spoken. 
Even the least bellicose of mortals has within him 
some citadel of strength, some point round which all 
the firmness of which he is capable rallies in moments 
of crisis, and with Eisner this point was his innate 
respect for the decent conventions of a social system 
whose fundamental principle is the division of society 
into clearly marked classes. If he spoke now with a 
voice which would brook no contradiction and with 
the gestures of a domestic tyrant, it was because he 
saw this point threatened. His daughter, his only 
daughter, married to a man whom his own class had 
branded, who therefore belonged to no class at all, who 
could no longer be classified by respectable conven- 
tional rules ! It was the terror of this prospect which 


256 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


had caused the threat to spring lo his lips, which 
might even go the length of supporting him in its exe- 
cution. The very abjectness of his respect for the 
uniform helped now to feed his terror. To marry a 
man who was not an officer might be no especial glory, 
but to marry a man who had been found unworthy of 
the distinction — a social and military fiasco — it was 
too much for his fanatically respectable soul ! Take 
away his uniform from him, and what remained of 
this young man, who possessed neither money nor no- 
bility of birth — whose future, which had looked so 
brilliant but yesterday, had become suddenly quite 
hopelessly obscure? Herr Eisner could not see that 
anything remained ; and, in words that were far from 
carefully chosen, he flung his conviction at Thekla, 
irritated by her strange obduracy to a point which 
made of the next five minutes a period of helpless 
anguish to his trembling wife, whose vain attempts 
to interfere between father and daughter were listened 
to by neither. 

When at length — alarmed perhaps by his own ex- 
citement — he left the two women alone, it was with 
the same threat upon his lips, which for minutes past 
had been met only by Thekla^s childishly mutinous 
silence, in which was no sign of yielding. 

^^My child — ah, how dreadful moaned the mother, 
dropping her hands to her knees as the door fell 
noisily shut. ^^My heart bleeds for you both — yet 
you must see yourself that there is no help for it. I 
have never known your father like that before 

Thekla turned upon her with a peremptory gesture. 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


257 


quiet, mamma! You must help me, now; I 
have no time to lose.^^ 

But what are you going to do 
To write to him ; to tell him to come here — to- 
morrow, when papa is at the manufactory. I cannot 
live another day without assuring him that I belong 
to him for ever.^^ 

Frau Eisner lost a little of her superabundant 
colour. 

But, Thekla — ^your father will kill me 1^^ 

^^Xo, he will not; he need not know. You must 
see, surely, that I have to speak to him, at least once. 
I must know what he is going to do. If you will not 
let him come here, I shall meet him elsewhere — I shall 
find a way — I know I shall 

The conviction that she would find a way ended, 
after another few minutes, by bearing down Frau 
ElsneFs resistance. To forbid one interview would 
be almost unmerciful — she felt that herself; and — 
who knows ? — ^perhaps this young man himself might 
end by refusing to accept the sacrifice proposed. 

Thekla had gone to her own room already, and, 
with fingers that jerked with excitement, was scrawl- 
ing a few lines on a card. She could not rest until 
she had done something, not only to quiet his anxiety, 
but also to prove to herself that her parents’ ideas 
were not her own, that she had no part in those words 
which had been spoken within the last half-hour, and 
at whose memory her cheeks still tingled with indig- 
nation. There had been too much naked human 
egoism, too much of the cynicism of social self-preser- 


258 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


vation for her inexperienced child’s soul, with its gen- 
erous instincts, to be able to witness unmoved. Every 
fibre that was noble in her nature had risen in revolt 
at the baseness of this desertion, while all that was 
soft and womanly cried out in pity for the victim of 
Fate. 

It was the reaction from this tumultuous and 
humiliating half-hour which put into the words with 
which she called her lover to her side an ardour which 
was new to herself. 


CHAPTEE XX. 


^^What can he be waiting for still Thekla asked 
herself every few minutes during the long hours of 
the following forenoon, which dragged on without 
bringing the expected response to her note. Each 
one of them added to the strain which the almost 
sleepless night — in itself an unprecedented experience 
— ^had laid upon her. Her heart was so full of yearn- 
ing and of pity that until it had unburdened itself 
of its load no degree of peace was to be hoped for. 
Was it not a little ungracious of him to tarry so long, 
when she was doing so much for him? — for in the 
long hours of the night it had come to her that to 
defy her father for his sake was by no means a little 
thing; and, though she did it gladly, she would have 
liked to see it acknowledged. And, besides, the time 
was beginning to press, since in half an hour more 
Herr Eisner might be expected back to dinner. 

She was just making the remark to her mother 
when a maid came in with a card upon a salver. 
Thekla snatched it up, frowned at it for a moment, 
and, throwing it down again, went hurriedly to the 
door. The frown had been called forth by the obser- 
vation that the word ^^Lieutenant’^ had been carefully 
erased upon the calling-card. At the door she turned 
back towards the maid: — '' 


260 THE BLOOD -TAX. 

Did you take him into the little drawing-room, as 
I told you ?” 

^^Yes — the Herr Lieutenant — that is, the gentle- 
man is in the little room/^ 

Thekla frowned at the correction, just as she had 
done at the card. There was a curious look of aston- 
ishment on the girFs face, which both displeased and 
disquieted her. 

Half way down the staircase she was rejoined by her 
breathless mother. 

Not so fast, Thekla ! You know that I only con- 
sented on condition that my presence — One can- 
not throw all rules overboard, after all.” 

^^Very well,” said Thekla indifferently, and with- 
out moderating her pace. Her mother was far in her 
wake as she traversed the big drawing-room towards 
the boudoir beyond ; but in the act of opening the door 
her impetuous haste seemed to have received a sudden 
check. Shutting it again quickly, she came back 
towards her mother with a face of astonishment and 
confusion. 

That stupid girl ! It is not Conrad at all — it is 
a strange man in a brown coat whom she has taken in 
there.” 

Frau Eisner gave a perplexed stare at the card she 
still held in her hand. 

How can it be ? His name is quite plain here.” 

Go and see for yourself, if you will not believe 
me,” said Thekla, with a touch ill-temper. tell 
you it is a stranger.” 

You saw his face ?” 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


261 


Xo, only his back; he was looking out of the win- 
dow; but Conrad never 

She broke off, as though struck by a sudden idea — 
an alarming idea, to judge from the gaze she turned 
upon her mother. 

Go and see, mamma — ^go and see she urged, 
almost pushing her mother forward. ^Terhaps it is 
a visitor for you.^^ 

A moment later Frau Eisner, standing in the open 
doorway of the boudoir, was uttering a curious mix- 
ture of exclamations. 

But, Thekla — dear me, how strange ! What a 
funny mistake to make ! Yes, of course it is the Herr 
Lieutenant — I mean 

And in another moment later Thekla, almost run- 
ning forward, and having assured herself by a swift, 
piercing look at his face that this was indeed her 
Conrad, found herself suddenly enclosed in a pair 
of arms clad in an unfamiliar brown material, but the 
impetuosity of whose gesture was familiar enough. 
With her head resting against this same unfamiliar 
brown coat she at length burst into tears — the first 
she had shed since the terrible news of last night. 

Until now the bare excitement of events had reigned 
too supreme to leave room for mere repining ; it was in 
this moment, with her lover’s arms about her, and with 
the tangible proof of the change which had happened 
since yesterday brought so unmistakably home, that 
she became in one instant aware, not only of his loss, 
but also of her own. Convulsively she sobbed, her 
face pressed against his shoulder, her eyes as tightly 


262 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


shut as though she were afraid of what she might see 
if she opened them ; while her mother, alarmed by this 
abandonment of grief, protested helplessly, and Pletze 
struggled to find the calmness that was necessary to 
calm her. 

Thekla — Thekla — ^your eyes, I implore of you — 
your eyes ! Your father will guess everything when 
he sees them so swollen urged the desperate Frau 
Eisner, while Pletze murmured only: — 

^^My love — ^my love! It is too much for you — I 
knew it would be too much 1^^ 

But already Thekla was making an effort. Xo 
words could have better spurred her out of this un- 
looked-for access of discouragement, reminding her, 
as they did, that this was not at all the way in which, 
during the long watches of the night, she had seen 
herself welcoming her lover, with words of hope and 
of encouragement on her lips, with a fortitude that 
was to support him, and, above all, with the instant 
assurance of her unaltered fidelity — that was how it 
was to have been. It was only these stupid clothes 
which, taking her so entirely by surprise, had upset 
her equanimity, and with it her calculations. Some- 
how she had not been prepared for this, or at least 
not so quickly, so entirely without warning. Too 
much for her? Xo — she must prove to him at once 
that it was not too much for that spirit of self-sacrifice 
which since last night she had discovered within her- 
self and which she was determined to live up to. 

Under the impulse of the resolve her head raised 
itself from his shoulder, and through her tears she 
smiled at him as she had never smiled before. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


263 


Oh tio, Conrad — oh no ! You don’t know how 
Btrong I am; you don’t know all that I am ready to 
do. It is only the surprise ; and then, I had waited 
so long, I thought you were not coming at all.” 

could not be here sooner; I was as quick as I 
could be; I had to procure things, you know — ^these 
clothes, I mean — since I cannot wear the uniform any 
longer.” 

Never again?” she asked, with lips which, in spite 
of all her efforts, visibly quivered. 

Of course never again, since I am no longer an 
officer.” 

Are you very unhappy, Conrad ?” 

I cannot be quite unhappy while you love me, my 
goddess !” 

They were standing in the middle of the crowded 
boudoir, holding each other by their two hands, 
as though the better to make sure of each other’s 
presence, and they were as good as alone, since 
Frau Eisner, in whom the terror of being sur- 
prised by her husband had triumphed over her 
sense of propriety, was playing sentinel in the 
big drawing-room outside. From time to time a 
sob shook Thekla’s breast, but forcibly she kept 
it down, blinking her eyelids fast, so as to pre- 
vent the tears rising. With her eyes fixed hard 
upon his face, with her ears drinking in the passion 
of his words, she was doing all that lay with her to 
keep strong, as strong as she had felt last night, when 
.she had so recklessly confronted her father — to feel 
the exaltation which had sustained her so successfully 
then. It was easier to do it when she looked only at his 


2G4 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


face — that at least was not changed except for the an- 
guish upon it, and she looked at it as hard and persist- 
ently as though she wanted to prove to herself that this 
was indeed the same man whom she had loved for a 
year, the thought of becoming whose wife had filled 
her with such exultant pride. Without knowing it, 
she avoided looking at anything beyond his face, for 
that would have been to look at his clothes, and his 
clothes were what she did not want to see, since they 
reminded her too painfully of what he had once been 
and was no longer. The trivial cynicism of the 
proverb which declares that it is the clothes that make 
the man had always been wont to raise her indigna- 
tion; it came into her mind now, only to he angrily 
cast aside, but not without leaving its shameful little 
mark behind it. In his blue coat with its glittering 
buttons, with spurs on his heels and the sword by his 
side, her hero had always seemed to her so resplendent 
that she had never even thought of analysing his pre- 
cise claims to good looks, nor was she calm enough 
now to disentangle the grounds of the vague sense of 
disappointment with which his appearance filled her. 
A man who has known but one mode of attire, whose 
every detail is rigidly prescribed, does not learn over- 
night to make a proper choice, in the matter of either 
material or cut, among the bewildering variety of gar- 
ments which such a place as Mannstadt offers to the 
mixed tastes of its inhabitants ; and, although Thekla 
did not reflect as consecutively as this, she felt rather 
than saw that his coat — ^bought ready-made, no doubt^ 
at the first shop he had encountered — sat badly upon 
him (how could it be otherwise, seeing that ready- 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


265 


made garments are furnished only in normal sizes, 
young giants not being generally taken into account ?) 
— that his cheap-looking cravat was neither of the 
right pattern nor fastened in the right way; just as 
she was aware, without wanting to be so, that the very 
freedom of his movements, and consequently his whole 
bearing — once so proud and so fearless — had suffered 
from his change of attire. And not his bearing alone. 
Gazing at his face now with that yearning intensity 
which wanted to keep hold of the image of her hero as 
she had known him, she wondered how she had never 
before noticed how heavy was the moulding of the 
chin. Could it be the shape of the collar alone which 
gave to the throat — more fully displayed than she had 
ever seen it — this unexpected look of breadth as well 
as of roughness ? The questions did no more than shoot 
through her mind, chased by the emotions which his 
words, his glances, the pressure of his fingers, and 
now the hurry of farewell, were awakening in her; for 
already the sentinel had appeared in the doorway with 
warning words upon her agitated lips. 

It wants but ten minutes to twelve : he will be here 
immediately, and Thekla must absolutely bathe her 
eyes before he sees her.^^ 

One more clinging embrace, and the brief interview 
was at an end, without any definite explanation hav- 
ing been come to. Assurances had been given, protes- 
tations made, kisses exchanged, but nothing like a 
plan of action discussed. That must stand over till 
next time — for that there would have to be a next time 
was clear, even to Frau Eisner. A hurried consulta- 
tion decided that whenever the opportunity for an 


266 the blood-tax. 

undisturbed talk seemed favourable a summons should 
call him. 

Having left the house — by a back door, at Frau 
Eisner’s especial request — Pletze did not immediately 
turn back to his lodging, but, having stood for a mo- 
ment in deep thought, set off walking briskly in an- 
other direction. Although in his dread of recognition 
he kept his hat — a soft felt hat that was a size too 
small for him — pulled low over his forehead, a little 
of the very deepest shadows was lifted from his face. 
Those few minutes in the boudoir had been like a 
draught of the elixir of life. With Thekla’s promises 
still ringing in his ears, with Thekla’s kisses still 
burning on his lips, it was impossible quite to despair. 
Not even her tears had been able to bring back the 
utter hopelessness of yesterday. He had seen in them 
only what he had wanted to see in them : the unavoid- 
able distress of her tenderly sympathetic heart, at 
most a very natural and explicable disappointment. 
Her courageous resolve had elated him far more than 
that little moment of weakness had been able to de- 
press him, and had given back to him the power of 
looking the future in the face. 

With quickened mental energy an idea had leapt to 
his mind, almost in the moment that he stepped into 
the street, and it was on this idea that he was now 
acting. 

Millar, returning presently from the manufactory, 
was astonished to find what appeared to him a stran- 
ger waiting for him in his lodging. It was only when 
the big man in the brown coat began to speak that. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


267 


incredulously recognising Pletze, he burst into an 
irresistible laugh. 

My dear friend ! Is this a mystification ? If so, 
iPs an uncommonly successful one. To be sure it’s 
Carnival time — I presume you are masquerading ?” 

Pletze stared blankly for a moment, before appear- 
ing to understand. 

I forgot that you don’t know,” he stammered ; and 
then, with dark flushes passing over his haggard- 
looking face, he told his story. 

It was a story which, but for a certain conversation 
he had once had with Greneral Eussel, Millar would 
not have believed, and which even with that conver- 
sation in his memory was hard to listen to with any 
degree of calmness. Long since his sense of justice 
had rebelled against the theory of army laws, and to 
see this theory put into practice upon the person of a 
man for whom he had got to feel warmly within the 
last year was enough to determine a final revolt of the 
spirit. It could not be like this — it could not — there 
must be a remedy somewhere. 

And yet it was like that, and neither was there any 
remedy anywhere, as the victim of these same laws 
himself now proceeded to explain. 

Some cases are harder than others, of course ; but 
there can be no exceptions; that was always quite 
clear to me — it cannot stop being clear to me just 
because it is my own case.” 

Then you are going to do nothing ? To appeal to 
nobody?” 

There is nothing I can do. You don’t seem quite 


268 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


to understand/^ Pletze actually smiled — a pale- 
looking smile, but unmistakably a smile of faint 
amusement at the ignorance of this outsider. ^^The 
only thing I could appeal to would be a Court of 
Honour. Beyond that there is nothing; its verdict 
is final — and that verdict I have only anticipated by 
taking my dismissal.” 

^^It is monstrous! monstrous!” ejaculated Millar, 
who looked just now by far the more excited of the 
two. 

It is not monstrous,” said Pletze, almost angrily : 
^fit has to be so — I see that even now. My comrades 
know as well as you do that I have done nothing dis- 
honourable, but they cannot put out of the world the 
fact that an officer has received a cuff on the head, and 
a cuff on the head is a thing which does not accord 
with the dignity of the uniform. Even the most 
elaborate explanations will not prevent there remain- 
ing a certain number of people who will go on believ- 
ing that when a man gets his ears boxed it is because 
he deserves to have them boxed ; and such an impres- 
sion, even though it be a false impression, cannot help 
injuring the high name of the army. Military honour, 
you see, is a far more brittle article than civil honour, 
and has to be handled far more carefully. The colonel 
himself called it a ridiculous combination of circum- 
stances ; but since they have combined there is nothing 
more to be said.” 

Millar, gazing intently into the earnest face before 
him, did not know whether he felt more inclined to 
laugh or to cry. Was this a farce or a tragedy ? Was 
this young man to be hooted at for his abject acquies- 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


269 


cence in what seemed a mere eccentricity of Fate^ or 
to be admired for the spirit of martyrdom which, 
even while falling, could still applaud the justice of 
the blow under which he succumbed ; whose one con- 
solation in laying down the uniform seemed to be the 
thought that by the sacrifice of his own person he was 
vindicating the integrity of a sacred institution ? 

And, dt the same time that he was thinking all this, 
Millar, just like Thekla, was trying to reconstruct 
from the badly dressed, awkwardly moving civilian 
before him the brilliant young officer he had known 
so lately; nor was he succeeding much better than 
Thekla. Divested of his uniform and the prestige it 
brought with it, there remained of his visitor just 
what he had at first perceived on entering the room : 
a big man in a brown coat that was too small for him, 
who certainly held himself rather straighter than does 
the average civilian, but who, with no sword-hilt to 
feel for, evidently did not quite know what to do with 
his hands, and whose features scarcely ranged above 
the commonplace. It was when his eye fell on the 
cravat that the half-nervous laugh which had been 
threatening for some minutes broke out at last. 

Do you know, it’s almost funny !” he said, rising 
from his chair rather precipitately, in order to be rid 
of that look on the face before him. 

Not to me.” 

The tone took Millar’s thoughts straight back to a 
talk he had had with this same young man only a few 
months ago. ^^You see, I have never known anything 
else,” he had then said. Well, he would have to learn 
to know something else now, it would seem. 


270 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


What are you going to do he asked, all the 
more brusquely because of the pang of almost intol- 
erable compassion which the recollection brought 
with it. 

That is what I was thinking of consulting you 
about. I came here for that. The war in South 
Africa is not quite finished yet — do you think there 
would be any chance of my getting a place in the 
English army? Since I have myself laid down my 
commission Here, they would probably not think me 
disqualified.^^ 

^^Very likely not/^ said Millar, avoiding the anxious 
gaze ; ^^but the mere fact of being a foreigner disquali- 
fies you, you see. Even within the ranks we take 
nothing but subjects of the Empire.^^ 

Pletze’s face fell by another degree. 

That is a pity. The Boers would take me, of 
course, though I would rather have been on the Eng- 
lish side ; but I fear that is not the right way to assure 
my future — and my future has to be assured, for the 
sake of Thekla.^^ 

Millar turned with a movement of surprise. 

Do you mean that Fraulein Eisner 

Our engagement subsists the same as ever,^^ ex- 
plained Pletze, with an unconscious uplifting of his 
head. ^^Her father refuses to recognise it — he even 
speaks of disinheritance ; but Thekla has declared that 
she will wait, either until he relents, or until she is 
old enough to marry without his consent.” 

She has declared this ?” 

The astonishment in the voice somehow jarred upon 
Pletze. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


271 


Yes/^ he said sharply, ^^those were her very words. 
I have just come from her.^^ 

Extraordinary said Millar to himself, since 
aloud he did not venture to say it. He could not him- 
self have explained why the news of Thekla^s splendid 
fortitude had astonished him so much. Undoubtedly 
she looked like a queen, but somehow he had expected 
her to act more like a child. 

I should have liked best, of course, to have got into 
some sort of uniform,^^ Pletze was saying ; ^^but I must 
not think of myself alone — I have to lay the founda- 
tions of a household. Your time here is almost up, 
I believe ; perhaps when you go back to England you 
might find something for me ; and I must go out of 
the country, at any rate — I could never make up my 
mind to stay here now.^^ 

He paused for a moment, twisting his hat, which 
he had convulsively kept hold of, round and round in 
his hands, an occupation in the course of which, as 
Millar observed, the grey kid gloves into which he 
had obviously struggled with difficulty had begun to 
crack at the seams. 

You see, it would be too unbearable, he went on 
in a hurry ; could not help seeing soldiers at every 
turn, and hearing signals and the tramp of horses, and 
everything that belongs to it ; I should feel near to it 
all the time, and yet irreparably parted ; for, however 
kindly disposed my late comrades may be, they will 
no longer, they can no longer, speak to me in exactly 
the same tone as heretofore. I am a marked man, 
you see. The mere sight of their compassionate sym- 
pathy will be a constant rubbing against the sore spot. 


272 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


The rest I can bear, perhaps, but not that. That is 
why I want to get away — to England or America — 
better to America, since it is further. Perhaps you 
can help me ? I am quite willing to work.” 

What sort of work can you possibly do ?” asked 
Millar, with the unconscious scorn of the professional 
worker for the man who, in his eyes, has done no more 
than fill a place. 

Anything for the beginning — something that has 
to do with horses would do best. I think I could be 
a very fair riding-master, or I would gladly undertake 
to break horses — any of my comrades will tell you that 
I am a first-rate hand at that ; or I could take charge 
of racing stables — anything, in fact, to begin with, 
just till I have time to look about me and make a 
plan. Do you think you will be able to help me ?” 

Perhaps I can ; you must give me time to think.” 
Yielding to an impulse of curiosity, Millar added : — 
^^And FrMein Eisner has consented to separate 
herself from her country and from all her people ?” 

^^We have not spoken of that yet; there was no 
time; but since she loves me enough to throw in her 
fate with mine, of course she will go where I go.” 

I have made a mistake about that girl, evidently,” 
was the refiection with which a few minutes later 
Millar found himself alone; would not have 
thought it of her — ^no, I would not !” 

He was experiencing that agreeable sense of sur- 
prise which accompanies the discovery in our neigh- 
bour of some quality or virtue with which we had not 
credited him. 

' X. 1 


CHAPTER XXI. 


The great press ball Rad come round again; but 
although Herr Eisner was donning his tail-coat down- 
stairs, Thekla and her mother, instead of making any 
preparations for the evening, were carefully stowing 
away the radiant toilets which earlier in the day had 
been laid out in state — a gorgeous mauve brocade for 
Frau Eisner, a wonderful pink crape for Thekla — and 
laying back into their cases the various ornaments 
displayed upon the dressing-table ; for although 
Thekla had from the first rejected the idea of the ball, 
it had been found more prudent to acquiesce, at least 
in appearance, in Herr Eisner’s peremptorily ex- 
pressed desire on the subject. By this time, of course, 
Pletze’s disgrace was public, and it by no means suited 
the incensed manufacturer that Thekla’s absence from 
so conspicuous a feast should be construed in the man- 
ner in which it was likely to be construed. 

What is the use of irritating your father further, 
when the pretext of a sudden headache will serve your 
end just as well ?” had been Frau Eisner’s argument ; 
and Thekla had acquiesced, having by this time re- 
covered her senses quite sufficiently to see that she 
would be gaining nothing by open opposition in minor 
points. She made no objection even when Frau 
Eisner, much pleased with her own diplomacy, had 
the ball-dresses laid ready, in the full view of Eisner, 


274 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


who, confronted by snch elaborate preparations, could, 
despite his lively annoyance, scarcely doubt the genu- 
ineness of the headache which was announced to have 
come on just as the hairdresser was ushered in. And 
he would have done wrong to doubt ; for, though con- 
venient, the headache was perfectly real, as the un- 
usual want of freshness about Thekla^s skin and the 
heavy shadows round her eyes would alone have con- 
vinced him. Besides convincing, they also touched 
him a little, making his farewell words to her gentler 
than any he had spoken since that fateful evening, 
now four days back. 

Lie down, my child, and get some sleep ; I see that 
you are not fit for a ball-room. It has been a trying 
time — for all of us — though I have no doubt that in 
the end your good sense will triumph.’^ 

He had kissed her, too, which he had not done since 
Tuesday, and that kiss had strangely moved Thekla, 
revealing to her how much she had missed the wonted 
paternal caresses. To a nature as carefully trained and 
as dutiful as hers, even the lightest disturbance of 
domestic peace must be painful, and this was no light 
disturbance. Undoubtedly it was much easier to live 
at peace with one^s surroundings than at war — with 
smiling faces around one instead of frowning ones. 

Left alone with her mother, Thekla did not lie 
down ; there would have been no use in doing so, since 
that afternoon she had sent a note to Pletze, summon- 
ing him for the evening. The headache — real or pre- 
tended — was to serve another end beyond mere absten- 
tion from the ball. Before at the very least one hour 
after midnight, it was certain that Eisner would not 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


275 


return from a feast at which his business instinct 
alone made a prolonged appearance appear advisable. 
No better opportunity could be found for that undis- 
turbed interview which the unfortunate man was, no 
doubt, impatiently awaiting. Thekla was waiting for 
it, too, but with almost as much anxiety — or was it 
dread? — mixed with the impatience. It was four 
days now since the terrible announcement, and four 
days — ^together with portions of the night — which are 
given exclusively to reflection are capable of maturing 
an extraordinary amount of thought, and consequently 
of bringing about all sorts of mental discoveries. If 
she could have kept hold of that purely nervous ex- 
citement which had sustained her so magniflcently 
during that scene in the big drawing-room under the 
dismantled Christmas tree, then everything would 
have been easy ; but, perhaps because of the exhaustion 
of those sleepless nights, she was no longer able to 
retain that sense of exaltation — even found it difficult 
to believe in its ever having been. In its place now 
stood a deep depression, born she could not exactly 
say in what moment, but which certainly had not been 
there before the first interview with her so curiously 
metamorphosed lover. With all her strength she had 
been struggling against it for three days, without 
being able to get the better of it or to rid herself of 
that half pathetic, half comical impression of his per- 
sonal appearance which she had carried away with her 
from the boudoir. She was ready — of course she was 
ready to cling to her hero through adversity — how 
could three days have changed anything about that? 
— ^but she must first get used to him in this new shape. 


276 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


must convince her inner consciousness that this really 
was her hero, and not a mere travesty of his person. 

I wonder if he has got any better clothes by this 
time ? she was asking herself even now, as she laid 
back into their cases the bracelets she was to have 
worn at the ball. 

Frau Eisner, similarly occupied, could not quite 
repress an occasional sigh. This display of trinkets, 
of ribbons and of flounces, had been more deeply 
diplomatic than Thekla was aware of, since until the 
very last moment the mother had not quite abandoned 
the hope that the daughter, succumbing to so many 
glittering inducements, would, after all, consent to be 
taken to the ball. How much pleasanter that would 
have been than the painful interview which awaited 
them! 

But on this point Thekla had never flinched. If 
she, too, in secret, shrank from the emotions of the 
interview, she dreaded far more intensely those that 
would have met her in the ball-room. Loyalty alone 
would have made her appearance on this festive occa- 
sion seem like a treachery towards Conrad, but it was 
not loyalty alone which had decided her refusal. The 
dread of showing herself in public just now had 
played almost as great a part — for it was as Ms fiancee 
that she would be looked at, as the affianced bride of 
the man of whose social downfall half the town was 
talking by this time— she knew it by the mere looks of 
the people she had met since Tuesday, she had heard 
it plainly from the lips of a girl-friend who only yes- 
terday had invaded her privacy with the acknowledged 
object of proffering unwelcome condolence. 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


277 


^^You still mean to marry him?’^ this would'-be 
comforter had almost gasped in her astonishment at 
the announcement which met her. ^^Well, you are 
brave, that is all I can say 

The obvious sincerity of the tone had brought home 
to Thekla the exact depth of the downfall that awaited 
her, far better than all the parental indignation had 
been able to do. For this was no man of business 
who spoke here ; this was a girl like herself, with ideas 
which she had always found to be rather similar to 
her own ; similar also to her in this, that she too had 
for several months past been engaged to an officer. 

^^Why, we shall be in quite different classes of 
society, my dear! Herr Pletze has made no other 
studies than military ones, of course, so the occupa- 
tion he is likely to find is not likely to be one which 
would make it easy for me, as an officer’s wife” — 
(how proudly had not Thekla once said those same 
words) — ^^to associate with his wife. Do you realise 
that?” 

She had not quite realised it, but she did so now, 
together with other things. 

No, under present circumstanees the press ball 
would have been too great a trial. And it was not 
from publicity alone that she shrank, it was also from 
the stirring up of memories, that were but a year old, 
which scarcely wanted the sight of the lighted ball- 
room and of the crowd of uniforms to fall upon her 
unmercifully. To think of the triumph and of the 
hopes of that unforgettable evening was to feel at her 
heart a mortal stab of regret, not so much for all the 
personal triumphs that she was renouncing, but for 


278 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


that position she had once coveted, for that dead 
prestige which had always in her eyes loomed so much 
larger than more material accessories. 

Henceforward all this would have to cease to be for 
her. Even if her father should relent, all that social 
eclat would be gone for ever — and if he should not 
relent ? 

Within these last days Thekla had tried to face 
the question. “Well, you are brave !” her friend had 
repeated at parting; and Thekla herself rather leaned 
to that opinion. There was no doubt that she was 
doing — for Conrad’s sake — something very brave, 
very big, and that seemed to be getting bigger with 
each day that she thought about it. Was Conrad 
thinking about it in the same degree? Did he quite 
understand, quite appreciate what she had under- 
taken? During the first interview already she had 
felt faintly astonished at his manner of speaking of 
her act of heroism — ^it surely could not be called less 
than that ; she could not remember that he had even 
actually thanked her. He had wanted only to be as- 
sured of her love, and, having got the assurance, he 
had seemed to take the rest for granted. That had 
been her own point of view, the one she had opposed 
to her father, the one on which she still took her 
stand; but, although she protested herself ready for 
the sacrifice, she was beginning to feel curious and a 
little anxious as to the details of the process. 

It was all in her mind now, circling round and 
round with wearisome persistence while she carefully 
shook out the pink crape skirt previous to hanging it 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


279 


in the press, in whose depth it would slumber for who 
knows how long? 

All at once she gave a little, broken laugh. 

donH really know why I am taking so much 
trouble with this dress ; as Conrad’s wife I shall never 
need any ball-dresses at all, since most likely nobody 
will invite us.” 

In her trouble Frau Eisner all but dropped the ear- 
rings she was laying back in their case. 

Oh, Thekla — how can you say such dreadful 
things ! I don’t believe people could be so cruel to you 
— and besides, you are not yet his wife, after all.” 

But I shall be some day, I suppose, so surely I 
had better get used to the situation.” 

There is no hurry about that, since, without your 
father’s consent, you cannot marry before you are 
twenty-four. Six years is a long time, after all.” 

Yes, six years is a long time,” said Thekla, and 
she paused for a moment, as though she were taking 
a look at those six years before her, but was astonished 
to observe that they did not bear exclusively the char- 
acter of a desert, but had about them some of the 
marks of a respite. Unless her father relented she 
could not, before those six years — ^be her spirit of 
self-sacrifice ever so great — accomplish her own im- 
molation. 

Do you think that papa will change his mind in 
six years ?” she asked, rather quickly. 

I don’t know ; I cannot well imagine it ; and yet 
it seems still more impossible that he should cut him- 
self off entirely from his only child.” 


280 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


Thekla shook out a fold of her dress rather impa- 
tiently. Her mother^s answer was not the one she 
had expected. For some reason, obscure to herself, 
she wanted to be assured of the impossibility of her 
father ever yielding, although to herself the chances 
of his maintaining his present inexorable attitude for 
a whole row of years appeared almost as slight as they 
evidently did to her mother. Despite his actual in- 
clemency she guessed her father not to be made of the 
stuff of those cruel fathers of the theatre who prefer 
to see their children dead at their feet than happy in 
their own way; and to whom, after all, should he 
leave the proceeds of the bicycles if not to his only 
daughter? But the consolation in this thought was 
but a poor one ; it was not the money she regretted — 
the baseness of merely financial calculations had not 
yet had time to kill higher aspirations — those things 
that she regretted were of a less tangible nature, and 
could not be restored by her father’s consent. 

^^But,” said Frau Eisner, looking sideways and a 
little timidly towards her daughter — seems to me 
much more probable that you will change your mind.’’ 

But, mamma — what an idea ! What do you take 
me for? How could I break my promise?” 

There was a great deal of annoyance in the tone, 
more, perhaps, than of indignation. 

Frau Eisner sighed again heavily, allowing the light 
to play upon the diamond necklace she held in her 
hands. 

You don’t know what you are giving up, Thekla, 
that is the truth.” 

I know that I am giving up a great deal — every- 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


281 


thing that I really cared for till now, but if he finds it 
possible to accept the sacrifice I ought to find it pos- 
sible to bring iV’ 

That is just it ; how can he find it possible ? Men 
are certainly much more selfish than women — ^no 
doubt about that ; and can it be right to sacrifice one^s 
whole life to a man’s egoism ?” 

Hush, hush, mamma !” said Thekla, as vehe- 
mently as though she was recoiling before the sugges- 
tion contained in her mother’s words. could never 
be as base as that — never! I could never break the 
word I have given !” 

But you might have taken it back when he offered 
it you.” 

That also would have been so weak — so — so com- 
monplace.” 

Frau Eisner’s big round eyes were still riveted on 
the diamonds. 

I’m SUI3 I don’t know whether I shall wear them 
this carnival. There can be no pleasure in taking 
you to balls while you arc in this frame of mind. Oh, 
Thekla, just think what an evening we would have 
had if only you had inund it possible to obey your 
father ! That mauve brocade is simply a triumph !” 

And she threw a wistful glance towards the mag- 
nificent garment on the bed. 

Oh, never mind about the ball — it’s not that part 
I care about,” said Thekla a little wearily, as though 
tired with the discussion. 

^^If only that young man does not appear too 
early,” began Frau Eisner after a minute of anxious 
reflection. ^Tt would be awful if he found your 


282 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


father still in the house. I have not heard the car- 
riage yet; it will be best to go down and see him off/^ 

She arrived just in time for the purpose, but did 
not breathe freely until the brougham had borne her 
lord and master from the door. 

Make Thekla lie down/^ had been his last injunc- 
tion, and she had nodded meekly in reply, too con- 
scious of her own duplicity to put the lie into words. 
How much longer would she have to keep up these 
pretences, so repugnant to her intrinsically sincere 
nature ? 

" If only there was a way of bringing it to an end 
somehow, she despondently reflected, still lingering 
in the entrance. shall never be able to keep it up 
— Himmel! is that he already 

The door, which the footman had been on the point 
of closing, had been pushed open again to admit a tall 
figure in an overcoat. 

^^That was a terribly narrow shave,^^ said Frau 
Eisner in a reproachful whisper, as he drew near. 

Hot so narrow as you think; I was watching the 
door. I did not want to keep Thekla waiting this 
time ; I can see her at once, can I not he asked in 
a tone whose urgency was reflected, tenfold, in his 
eyes. 

^^Yes, I will fetch her in a minute. Come this 
way,^^ and she led the way down the passage, and into 
the same boudoir where the first interview had taken 
place, and where a lamp had been lit under a lemon- 
coloured shade. 

" I will fetch Thekla in a minute,^’ repeated Frau 
Eisner, but she did not yet turn to the door. She 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


283 


was contemplating Pletze, with all sorts of ideas in 
her mind, out of the jumble of which something like 
the hazy outline of a plan began at length to emerge. 

^^You must not stay too long/^ she began again 
after that minute ; ^^and you must not agitate the poor 
child too much, she has quite enough to bear as it is. 
By rights, she ought to be in bed already — her head 
has been aching frightfully all the afternoon, and no 
wonder with the amount of tears she sheds.^^ 

Pletze looked frankly surprised. ^^Tears? But I 
thought I had dried them for her on Wednesday ! She 
seemed so full of courage when we parted.^^ 

Ah, yes — of course she did her best before you. 
Thekla has far too noble a spirit to let her break down 
in your presence. It is only I who witnessed the 
reaction from the effort. Poor child! Poor child! 
Why, you will see for yourself how changed she is in 
three days — it could not be otherwise with the little 
she has eaten since Tuesday — not enough to nourish 
a sparrow, I tell you 

“ This is very astonishing,^^ said Pletze, in growing 
consternation. 

^^Astonishing? It can only be because you are a 
man that you find it astonishing; any woman would 
tell you that when a girl is called upon to give up 
everything — even to break with her own father 

^^I did not call upon her to do that; it was her 
own free choice.^^ 

Pletze still spoke in that same perplexed tone in 
which he had replied to Frau Elsner^s first words. 

Because she is too noble, I tell you ; but you must 
not think that she does not feel it. Only just now she 


284 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


was saying to me: T know that I am giving up a 
great deal, but if he finds it possible to accept the 
sacrifice I must find it possible to bring it/ ” 

Please repeat those words/^ said Pletze in another 
and colder tone. 

Frau Eisner repeated them — with a few additions. 
When she had done he remained lost in thought for a 
moment, and she, a little intimidated by the change 
upon his face, did not venture to speak again. 

You do not understand Thekla,’^ he said at last, 
throwing back his head a little. ^Tlease fetch her 
now, will you?^^ 

^^You will not agitate her?^^ began Frau Eisner, 
almost tearfully, but was peremptorily interrupted. 

^^Be so kind as to fetch her; you know that you 
promised to do so. And I will ask you also to give 
us a few minutes alone — it need not be more than a 
few minutes, but I must have those absolutely.’^ 

Frau Eisner looked into his face, and found herself 
murmuring: ^^Very well.” The habit of command, 
its tone, its glance, is not always laid aside together 
with the uniform. 

Left alone, Pletze remained standing where she had 
left him, staring at the yellow lamp-shade which 
shed so unpleasantly a lemon-coloured light upon 
everything within its circle. Almost five minutes 
passed before Thekla appeared, scarcely time enough 
to let him recover from the surprise he had just 
undergone; and it was a quite honest surprise, too, 
probably because he had made the mistake of measur- 
ing her love according to his own. He had seen her 
shrink that first time, but had explained it away to 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


285 


himself; he was still attempting to explain away all 
that he had just heard^ and, although to hope had 
already become an effort, he was still hoping — prin- 
cipally because the blackness beyond was a little too 
black to be looked at just yet. 

I shall soon know,^^ he said to himself more than 
once during those five minutes. 

When she came in at last, with sad blue eyes and a 
tender smile upon her pale lips, hope, for one minute, 
leapt up anew; she could not look so sad, if she did 
not love him as he loved her. But with the renewal 
of hope there came a pang, that was at first purely of 
anxiety for her. Her mother had been right in say- 
ing that she was changed, though surely she was 
wrong concerning the causes of the change. 

I shall soon know,” said Pletze to himself again, 
as on the blue plush sofa he sat with his arm around 
her, her head against his shoulder, resting there as 
though exhausted. She was altogether far quieter 
than she had been last time — perhaps because she was 
physically tired ; there was neither the burst of grief 
nor the forcible reaction of that first meeting — noth- 
ing but a gentle depression which, even in Pletze’s 
eyes, bore some resemblance to resignation. 

Several minutes passed before he felt calm enough 
to make the announcement which he had come here 
to make, and which now suddenly presented itself to 
his mind in the light of an experiment — ^possibly a 
decisive one. 

^^Thekla,” he presently began, having steadied his 
nerves by a moments silence, ^^to repeat that we love 
each other is not enough. We must think of tho 


286 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


futxvre as well as of the present. Tell me: have you 
tried to think yet of the future 

Yes — a little/^ faltered Thekla, with an irrepres- 
sible shudder, which he felt plainly against his sup- 
porting arm. 

Have you realised that we shall have to part for 
a long time 

You mean that it will not do to continue your 
visits, so long as papa 

I mean much more than that. You know that 
I have to look out for a new profession, but it cannot 
be in this country. I could not bear to live with the 
army before my eyes — not belonging to it any longer. 
Therefore our home will have to be founded else- 
where.^^ 

Where ?” she asked, with the quickness of alarm. 

^^In America, I think. There are more openings 
there than anywhere else.’^ 

As far away as that ? Oh, Conrad !” 

It cannot be too far away for me.^^ 

But for me ! How long your letters will take to 
come 

^^We shall not be reduced to letters for ever, my 
love. Six years are long, but they will pass. I can 
live through them contentedly, if I know that you are 
coming to me.^^ 

What ? I shall have to go over there, too she 
asked precipitately, as though having only this mo- 
ment grasped the whole of his meaning. 

If you become my wife you will have, of course^ 
to follow me.^^ 

So far away from everybody — from papa, from 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


287 


mamma — from everybody I have ever known! Oh, 
Conrad, do yon mean that really 

He had his arm still round her, but had drawn a 
little away from the close embrace, as though the bet- 
ter to be able to see her face. A strange coolness had 
all at once laid itself upon his agitation of a minute 
ago. He found himself looking at her carefully, 
almost critically, determined not to let any symptom 
escape him. Xor was there any need for a very close 
scrutiny; the naive distress upon her face, come to 
the surface before even she had had time to consider 
the advisability of masking it, was written so large 
that he would have been blind indeed not to see it. 

Something in his eyes seemed to strike her sud- 
denly, making her perhaps realise the import of what 
she had just said, for it was with a little confusion 
that she went on speaking. 

Would it not be possible to find something — some 
profession, I mean, in another country — some place 
not quite so far away as America ? Somewhere where 
mamma could visit us sometimes 

It would be possible to find a profession even in 
this country, said Pletze, very quietly. ^Teople are 
disposed to be very kind to me; my late colonel has 
offered to procure me a situation as forester on the 
estate of a relative of his, if I can pass the necessary 
examination.^^ 

Again he could feel the tell-tale shudder against 
his arm ; it was the word ^^f orester,^^ apparently, which 
had done it this time. 

No, no,^^ she hastily protested, ^^that would not 
do; but in Austria, perhaps; they speak German 


288 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


there ; I should not feel so utterly lost, you see, I don’t 
know a word of English, Conrad, and even you would 
probably get homesick over there — do you not 
think so?” 

She was smiling up at him now, rather tremulously, 
in the attempt to modify the impression of her un- 
guarded words. But the effort of self-mastery was 
not so successful as last time, which was the reason 
why Conrad saw it better. In truth, he saw all sorts 
of things now which he had overlooked then, but to 
which those few minutes with Frau Eisner had suc- 
cessfully opened his eyes. 

But he gave no sign. He even smiled back at her, 
though with a feeling like death at his heart ; for now 
he believed at last that the end was come. It seemed 
strange now to himself that he should not have known 
this from the beginning. Given with both hands, as 
these things ought to be given, as he himself would 
have been capable of giving it, he could have taken 
the gift of her life; but not this way — not this way. 
Love had made him foolish; yet the first sign — not 
even of reluctance, but only of the presence of an 
afterthought, — ^was enough to leave the word to pride 
alone, the over-sensitive pride of the humiliated man 
who holds to it as to his last good. 

It was very gently that he took leave of her at last, 
having given her no direct answer to her last question. 
Thekla herself, despite her relief, had wondered at 
the unexpected turning aside of the subject which 
they had scarcely begun to discuss, now dropped in 
favour of remarks of a soothingly general nature; 
but she wondered still more at strange kiss he gave 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


289 


her when the moment of parting arrived — so much 
sooner than she had expected. 

I promised your mother not to keep you long,” 
he said as he drew her once more towards him ; ^^you 
are too tired to-night to let us discuss our plans, and 
it upsets you too much. I believe it will be best to 
do so by writing.” 

Then you will write?” 

" Yes, I will write,” he said, and kissed her — a kiss 
that would not end, but with something in it of the 
sadness and the solemnity of a last farewell. 

There was no anger in his mind as he stepped out 
again into the night, only the deep smart of wounded 
pride, and a little astonishment at himself. 

I suppose, after all, I must be considerably more 
of a fool than I took myself for,” he mused as he 
went. ^^Xow that I think of it quietly it does seem 
a little simple to suppose that any woman could love 
any man to that extent.” 

He had promised to write, and in the moment that 
he reached home he sat down to fulfil the promise. 

My beloved TheJcla ! — 

I am calling you so for the last time, to-day, since 
I am writing to ask your pardon for having been so 
blind and so presumptuous as to imagine that my 
poor person was worth the sacrifice of everything that 
makes life pleasant. These last four days have been 
a useless torture to you — I see that now — and a quite 
superfiuous drawing-out of my own sufferings. My 
only excuse for having been ready to accept your sac- 
rifice is that I was stupid enough not to recognise its 


290 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


extent, or even its exact nature. Your attempting to 
oppose your father’s will is, of course, a preposterous 
idea — ^that ought from the first to have been evident 
to the meanest comprehension; but I have no doubt 
he will forgive you as readily as I forgive him any 
hard thoughts of me he may lately have harboured. 
They are entirely justified by my unaccountable 
stupidity. 

When you are by some happier man’s side think 
of me sometimes, as I shall have no choice but to 
think of you, over there, in that new world which 
seems to you so far away, and to which there is no 
danger now of your ever being banished. 

^^CONBAD PlETZE.” 

Not all the sorrow in his heart had been able to 
keep the bitterness out of the last words he was ever 
to address to the woman he had believed in so im- 
plicitly. 

It was too late to dispatch the note that night ; and 
until close upon the following mid-day he waited in 
a suspense which was not the less real that he declined 
to acknowledge it to himself. Of what tough a tex- 
ture was this man made that, even after yesterday, 
hope would not entirely die ? 

The writing on the envelope was Eisner’s — he saw 
that at once. It contained a courteous acknowledg- 
ment of the communication to his daughter, and a 
set of carefully-measured phrases conveying a formal 
rupture of the engagement — in her name as well as 
in his own. What tears may possibly have flowed, 
what words of anguish may have been spoken between 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


ii91 


this iilbrning and mid-day, before the result pro- 
claimed upon this tidy sheet of paper had been 
reached, he would never know now, and scarcely even 
felt curious to know. All that occupied him was the 
question as to why she had not written herself. He 
would rather have had the proof of her renunciation 
in her own hand. 

Half an hour later he had it, when a second note — 
despatched, no doubt, surreptitiously, and with a dis- 
tinct tear-blotch on the address — was brought to him. 
No more than a scrawl this, with several more tear- 
blotches in the inside, written in evident distress, but 
not differing in essence from the large, tidy sheet. 
With a breaking heart she gave him up, with all the 
joy gone from her life, all the sun from her heaven — 
but still she gave him up, convinced at last that he 
was right, and that her first duty was towards her 
father. 

It was a pathetic little note, but a good deal harder 
to bear than the formal phrases of the father, more 
difficult to live down even than had been the obtrusive 
sympathy of his comrades. Separated from them, 
love had still remained to him; but now that love 
itself spurned him, what was there still to live for? 
He had thought then already that his existence was 
broken, and he recognised that now as a mistake. It 
was in this moment only that everything was lost; 
it was only now that he was sounding the bottom of 
despair. 


CHAPTEK XXII. 


The term of Millar's engagement at the manufac- 
tory had ended some days ago, yet his preparations 
for departure were being conducted in a somewhat 
desultory fashion. He was returning to his own 
country, whose interests alone he had had in mind 
when he accepted Herr Eisner's offer, and yet he was 
going back with no lighter heart than he had brought 
here with him. When he set out a year ago, he had 
seen himself returning armed to the teeth with proofs 
that only in one way was the salvation of the Empire 
to be reached, with a word in his mouth which was 
to ring through the length and breadth of the land. 
Now that the moment was come where were his 
proofs? Where the arguments that were to annihi- 
late his adversaries? Where that beautiful enthusi- 
asm which he had brought with him into his tem- 
porary exile ? What had he seen that could convince 
him so immovably of the blessings of conscription? 
He had seen a populace groaning under the burden 
of the blood-tax, degraded by the details of its work- 
ing; he had heard words of hatred and revenge, and 
witnessed the very handiwork of Anarchism itself; 
he had watched one class of society abjectly prostrat- 
ing itself before another, had looked on indignantly 
at the tyranny of the Uniform, had felt himself shaken 
to the bottom of his soul by the sight of the latest 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


293 


victim immolated on the altar of army prestige. And 
having seen all this, was he going back to his country 
with the device Conscription^^ still written on his 
banner? Assuredly not. At what precise moment 
his convictions had changed he could not say ; it was 
only now, when looking over both the material and 
the mental baggage which he was taking home with 
him, that he discovered those erstwhile ideas lying on 
the ground, after the fashion of a building whose 
foundations have yielded to a slow mining process. 

Conscription being put aside, what remained ? 
General EusseFs skeleton army ? The idea had begun 
by appearing fantastic — and yet for some time past 
it was beginning to pursue him. As gradually and 
imperceptibly as his faith in conscription had palled, 
just so gradually and imperceptibly had the details 
of General KusseFs plan been insinuating itself into 
his stubbornly-resisting mind. Look what way he 
would, of all the possible and impossible proposals 
bred by national alarm, this seemed to him on the 
whole the least impossible of them all. 

Disappointment in his quest did not bear the whole 
responsibility for the slowness of Millar’s preparations 
for departure. Xow that the moment for packing up 
had actually come he was astonished to find that it 
was not quite easy to turn his back on Mannstadt. 
General Eussel had once spoken of the irresistible 
nature of the military atmosphere, and Millar was 
discovering something of the truth of that remark. 
In this one year he had got so used to the martial 
sights, the well-disciplined bustle of a large garrison 
town, that he could not, without a certain blank feel- 


294 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


ing, think of what awaited him at home. He was 
going from a country in which the uniform is idolised 
to one in which it is good-humouredly smiled upon; 
from a place where it takes precedence even of grey 
hairs, to one where a man makes haste to get out of 
his parade dress for fear of the witticisms of the street 
urchin. If the one extreme was distasteful, was not 
the other rather pitiable ? And would it not be diffi- 
cult to get used to it again? 

There were his friends, too — new friends, indeed, 
but from whom the parting would not in every case 
be quite easy. General Eussel he might hope to see 
again in England some day, but that unfortunate 
Pletze he would probably never see again, nor that 
magnificent Thekla, whose image had grown so as- 
tonishingly in his mind since he knew of her resolve 
to share her lover’s fate. And Hedwig? 

Arrived at this point in his reflections Millar 
thoughtfully knocked the ashes off his cigar. Doubt- 
less the parting from Hedwig would be the hardest 
parting of all. The thought that those friendly dis- 
putes in Colonel von Grunewalde’s Spartan-like 
drawing-room were to come to an end for ever filled 
him with a sudden keen regret. Would she too re- 
gret? he asked himself with a little curiosity. He 
almost thought she would, even though he was a for- 
eigner and did not wear a uniform; or, if not, then 
those bright brown eyes had surely lied to him. Yes, 
it would be a little lonely over there, even though it 
was his home, with nobody close at hand to whom the 
military question was as absorbing as to himself, and 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 295 

whom he need not fear to tire by ever-repeated dis- 
cussion. 

It was time, too, to be taking leave of them all. He 
would begin by Gustav Hort, whom he had not seen 
for some months ; but a newer picture of whose hand- 
some, morose face he nevertheless wished to carry 
away with him. 

In the out-of-the-way house at the end of the un- 
finished street he found the engineer occupied with 
giving the final touches to the same drawing with 
which he had been busy on the day of Pletze’s visit. 

So you have had enough of Mannstadt asked 
Hort, still pencil in hand. 

I cannot honestly say that I have, but since Mann- 
stadt has had enough of me I have no choice but to 
go home.^^ 

To preach your crusade 

^^Xot the same crusade I once contemplated 
preaching.^^ 

Ah?^^ The mockery on HorPs face gave way to 
curiosity. ^Ts it possible that you have discovered 
flaws in that ideal system 

have. A system which maddens men to the 
point of murder — as we are all aware that it did last 
September — cannot be the right system.^^ 

Ah?” said Hort again, but this time glanced aside 
and began nervously drawing lines on a scrap of paper 
before him. After a moment he asked, without look- 
ing up: ^^Have you seen him lately? — I mean since 
the catastrophe?” 

Have I seen whom ?” 

Why, that young man, of course — Pletze. It was 


296 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


in leaving this house, you know, that he met his fate 
— a strange dispensation of Providence, surely and 
Hort laughed his harshest laugh. 

I have seen him,^^ said Millar, to whom the con- 
nection of ideas between his last remark and HorPs 
abrupt question had not been immediately clear. 

How is he bearing it 

Wonderfully well, I think; another proof of what 
a woman’s love can do even for a desperate man.” 

Ah, yes ; so long as he had that ! But now that 
that too is gone, does he still find life possible ? That 
is what I should like to know.” 

But since it is not gone ; it was scarcely a week 
ago that he told me that his engagement subsisted the 
same as ever.” 

A week ago — I daresay ! But a wonderful lot of 
things can happen in a week. It is evident that you 
have not seen him quite lately; but it is strange you 
should not have heard it through the Eisners.” 

I have not been near the Eisners since I left the 
manufactory. You mean that she has given him up ?” 

Yes, she has given him up,” repeated Hort, draw- 
ing ever closer and blacker lines upon the paper be- 
fore him. 

Where have you heard this ?” 

From Eisner himself, two days ago in the street. 
If he had not been simply bursting with satisfaction 
he would scarcely have condescended to make the an- 
nouncement to me, of all people. Xo doubt there 
have been family scenes, but paternal authority has 
come out triumphant in the end.” 

^ Millar, plunged in astonished reflection, said noth- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


297 


ing. The news he had just heard had taken him 
almost as much aback as though it directly touched 
himself. So used had he already got to his new con- 
ception of Thekla, that it required an effort of mind 
to return to the old one. There was a positive dis- 
appointment to wrestle with, the natural reaction 
from that agreeable surprise of last week. ^^So I was 
right about her, after all/^ was the conclusion in his 
mind. 

Hort, meanwhile, was speaking again, his eyes still 
fixed upon the paper he was scribbling full. 

I It seems that she made an effort — a magnificent 
effort it probably was, like everything she ever does — 
but apparently she exhausted herself in it.^^ 

Scarcely to be wondered at. Insignificance and 
poverty — ^it is a good deal to ask of any woman, is it 
notr 

That depends upon the woman.^’ 

Yes, and also upon what she is getting in return. 
If he had really been all the world to her, as I im- 
agined 

As he imagined himself, poor fellow,^’ put in Hort 
with the fragment of a laugh. 

Millar looked at him in silence, secretly wondering. 
Ought not the news of Pletze’s dismissal to be filling 
Pletze’s rival with elation, if not exactly with hope? 
Yet in the engineer’s words there was far more dis- 
approval than pleasure, and in the tone in which he 
spoke of the woman once so hotly coveted, something 
that came very near to contempt. He could not know 
that the elation had been and was gone, having flick- 
ered up wildly in the first moment, to sink under the 


298 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


tide of that especial sort of indignation which cannot 
look on unmoved at an act of cowardice, even though 
that act be to the detriment of a natural enemy. 

She would have been a heroine if she had done 
what she meant to do/’ said Millar after a moment, 
still watching the other’s face ; ^^so her failure to do it 
does not prove against her anything more than that 
she is not a heroine.” 

^^And does not know what love means,” finished 
Hort, glancing up with a world of scorn in his dark 
eyes. 

I do believe he is cured !” thought Millar, meeting 
that glance. 

And in the street again his mind returned to that 
surprise which was not a surprise, contained in this 
latest news, and which had disturbed him profoundly. 
If he walked on fast now it was not because he was 
in a hurry, but because he hoped to get away from 
the vision of Pletze’s face as he had seen it last, and 
which since the moment of Hort’s announcement had 
started up to pursue him. If it had been so near to 
despair then, what must it be now? Would the man 
so utterly abandoned find strength to go forth alone 
as an exile from his land, to begin a new life in a new 
world? ^Tt was that which was keeping him up,” 
thought Millar, as he remembered the proud move- 
ment with which Pletze had put up his head, in pro- 
claiming Thekla’s fidelity. But what was there to 
sustain him now? 

With the aching compassion for the man grew the 
resentment towards the woman whose conduct he had 
made a feint of defending. He had been thinking 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


299 


of her as so magnificent and she was after all so or- 
dinary; she was doing so exactly what any average 
woman of good intentions^ but without the strength 
of mind necessary to live up to them, might be ex- 
pected to do. She had duped him by her splendid 
bearing, she had extracted from him an admiration 
which was not her due — enough to cause this feeling 
of almost personal grudge with which he thought of 
her now. Hedwig, who looked so much less splendid, 
would never have acted so despicably, he felt sure of 
that, even without seeing the proofs. Perhaps it was 
but the natural consequence of the recoil of sympathy 
from Thekla which sent his thoughts so straight to 
the only other woman he had seen frequently during 
the pa,st year. That Hedwig interested and attracted 
him he had known for long, but had never until this 
moment discovered in what actual estimation he held 
her. Hedwig, as he guessed her to be, gained sud- 
denly and immensely when compared to Thekla as 
she had revealed herself. It seemed that it had 
wanted but this in one moment to ripen desires which 
for months past had been moving obscurely in his 
?nind. 

Is it impossible that she should make up her mind 
to go home with me 

The thought seemed suddenly to stand before him, 
so distinctly and unmistakably, that for a moment 
his pace was checked. And immediately he knew 
that this it was which he had required all along, the 
want of which had been making departure so difficult. 
Over there, among his blue and grey-eyed country- 
women he would surely have missed the sparkle of 


300 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


those dark eyes whose frank gaze had met his own so 
often during the twelve months that were passed. 
With her by his side there could be no danger of his 
interest in the military question ever being starved 
to death; quite close to him there would always be 
somebody whom no discussion on the great subject 
could ever weary, with whom he could argue, or quar- 
rel, if necessary, to his heart’s content. Why, it 
would be almost like carrying a little bit of the Ger- 
man army itself home to English shores. 

And his chances? Not so very bad it seemed to 
Millar. At any rate suspense would not be long. 
While he told himself so he had again mended his 
pace, but in another direction. He had turned to- 
wards the street in which Colonel von Grunewalde 
lodged, for his departure was too near to permit even 
the waste of an hour. If anyone had told him that 
he was going to make an offer of marriage to Hedwig 
because he was indignant with Thekla he would have 
laughed that person to scorn; and yet it was unde- 
niable that Thekla had almost as much to do with his 
resolve as had Hedwig herself. 

On the staircase he met Colonel von Grunewalde, in 
a great hurry it would seem, since he brushed past 
Millar without giving a sign. But Millar, too, was 
in a hurry which would brook no delay. 

Can you tell me whether your daughter is at 
home ? ” he asked, almost button-holing the evidently 
reluctant colonel. 

My daughter ? 

It was only as he turned his sharp, narrow face 
towards him that Millar began to guess that the ap- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


301 


parent failure of recognition had been intentional. 
Xever since he had known this masklike countenance 
had he seen its wooden features disturbed by anything 
that looked like an ordinary human emotion. To- 
day, for the first time, it became quite clear to him 
that the wood was, after all, but flesh and blood, and 
that the thin lips which could close so tightly could 
also quiver, under the iron grey moustache, at the 
touch of some hidden pain. 

""My daughter 

He said the word again in a repetition that appeared 
stupid, and with a look of such haughty surprise in 
his cold eye that Millar wondered what he could have 
said amiss. 

"" Yes, she is at home ; you will find her up there.’^ 

And, without waiting for another word, the colonel 
freed himself and passed on. 

"" If I know what a man looks like who has had a 
blow on the head,^^ mused Millar as he pursued his 
upward way, "" then that man has had such a blow ; 
and a rattling good one, too.^^ 

In the big, bare drawing-room he found nobody, 
and waited some minutes after his card had been 
taken to Hedwig, looking about him regretfully, as one 
looks at familiar spots about to drop out of his life, 
and wondering the while, in somewhat desultory fash- 
ion, at the curious number of packages with which the 
table as well as the sofa was littered. 

When she came in at last it was with a blue linen 
apron covering her dress, and with more packages in 
her hands. The little curls on her forehead were 
rougher than usual. But it was not these things 


302 


THE BLOOD-TA5^. 


which astonished Millar — it was something in her face 
— a new excitement which he had never seen there 
before, a ravishment which, it would seem, was mixed 
with a grief, for, although the swollen eyelids seemed 
to speak of tears shed, the eyes themselves were brim- 
ful of light. 

Don’t scrutinise my appearance too closely,’^ she 
laughed, having freed herself of her parcels, and 
stretching towards him a hand which was encased in 
an old uniform glove of her father’s ; ^^but I am ter- 
ribly busy — making order in my things; it is fortu- 
nate that I have not many of them !” 

Too busy to give me five minutes ?” asked Millar, 
keeping hold of the little hand in the big glove, and 
looking straight into her eyes. 

Oh, no, not that — ^more particularly as they will 
probably be the last five minutes I shall ever be able 
to give you. You are going away, are you not ?” 

I am going away — but you ?” 

Don’t you see that I am packing up ?” 

You are undertaking a journey? How fortunate 
for me that it has been delayed until now ! I could 
not have left Mannstadt without speaking to you; 
there is something that I absolutely require to say 
to you.” 

Eeally ?” said Hedwig, gently drawing her hand 
from his, as she sat down opposite to him. ^^Then you 
had better say it quickly, for I am going away very 
soon and very far.” 

^^Very far?” 

As far away as the other side of the ocean.” 

^^Are you joking?” asked Millar a little impa- 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 303 

tiently, provoked by the smile which played about her 
lips. 

is anything but a joke, I can assure you. I 
am really going away from Germany.^^ 

Alone r 
Xo, not alone.’’ 

Her eyes sank to the gloves, which she began very 
carefully to pull off her hands. For one second she 
seemed to be deliberating ; then, a little hurriedly, she 
went on: ^^There is no reason to make a secret of 
what everybody will soon know: I am going to be 
married in a few days.” 

Millar could only gaze at her with the not very in- 
telligent expression of extreme surprise. He did not 
ask: ^^To whom?” but Hedwig read the unspoken 
question in his eyes. 

To Herr Conrad Pletze,” she completed, raising 
her head to speak the plain, deliberate words. 

Impossible !” said Millar, with tongue suddenly 

loosened. ^^Why, he 

Was engaged to someone else only a few days ago 
— that is what you want to say, is it not ? But that 
engagement was broken — perhaps you know that — 
and the new one is only two days old.” 

This is terribly quick,” murmured Millar. At the 
end of a minute’s bewildered reflection it was all he 
had found to say. 

It is quick, but it has to be quick if it is to be at 
all. I daresay it sounds to you impossible that a man 
should be engaged within the same week to two dif- 
ferent girls ; very likely he appears to you as a very 
pattern of fickleness; but you must not judge him 


304 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


from that — it would not be fair to him. It is not his 
doing, in very truth it is mine. You see, it was in 
this way.^^ 

She was speaking eagerly, with flaming cheeks, the 
momentary confusion of the first announcement swept 
aside by her anxiety to justify Pletze’s conduct. 

To you I can speak openly — I know that you have 
always been a good friend. You will not judge either 
him or me falsely. When I heard that she had de- 
serted him, that all his hopes were dead, my first 
thought was : ^He will not be able to live V The fear 
of this thought laid hold of me and led me to him, 
as though I had been led with hands. He was so 
utterly alone, you see — ^how could I keep away? It 
seemed to me that I had no choice but to offer him my 
life — if that could help to save his.” 

And he accepted your sacrifice ?” 

She turned her blazing eyes upon him. 

Sacrifice ! It was no sacrifice ; it was the consum- 
mation of the only desire I had ever had — that of 
standing by him in his need, of having the right to 
share his sorrows as well as his joys.” 

This time her eyes did not drop before Millar’s nor 
did the voice shake in which she so fearlessly and so 
simply proclaimed her love. 

^^Well then — he accepted your gift?” he corrected 
his first question. 

He had no choice but to do so. I arranged things 
so that he could not refuse. It was by broad daylight 
that I went to his lodging, in the full view of every 
one who cared to look on. I wanted to make it im- 
possible for him to say Xo, He could not well do so 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 


305 


when my fair name was at stake, could he ? Oh, we 
women find ways, when our will is set — ^be sure of 
that and she laughed a triumphant little laugh. 

^^You have a great deal of courage,^^ said Millar 
with a touch of scorn, for the disappointment was still 
raw within him. 

And no sense of shame, some people will say, but 
not you, I think, and she looked at him steadily. 
^To me it was not a question of what people would 
think of me, but a question of getting to him before 
he had time to think of his revolver — and he had 
thought of it already — he acknowledged that to me. 
When a person is as unhappy as all that the usual 
rules cannot count, surely.” 

^^You have a great deal of courage,” said Millar 
again, but without the scorn, this time. 

am only doing what I could not help doing, 
what I had no title to do until now. That time in 
autumn when he lay wounded, do you think that my 
heart did not drag me towards him ? But I could not 
go to him then, because she went ; and now that he is 
suffering from a much worse wound than any bullet 
could bring him, you want me to keep away from 
him?” 

Her shining eyes seemed to be speaking the same 
reproachful question, as with nervous fingers she tor- 
mented the gloves she held in her hands. 

It was impossible either to let him die or to let 
him go away alone — over there to that chilly world 
beyond the sea. He does not love me yet — I know 
that quite well — ^he is only grateful ; but I love him 
too well not to gain his love in time.” 


306 


THE BLOOD^TAX. 


You will have a rival in her memory.” 

A disdainful smile slipped over her face. 

I am not afraid of her memory, although she is 
as beautiful as a goddess. She never loved him at all 
— she was only in love with his uniform — can he think 
of such a love for long? Oh, I shall gain him, never 
fear — I shall certainly gain him in the end, though 
for the present I am satisfied with saving him. Even 
if I had nothing but my love I think I could have 
saved him, but I have a little money as well — what 
my mother left me ; quite enough to make the begin- 
ning easy.” 

And your father ?” asked Millar, with a sudden 
recollection of the curiously altered face he had seen 
a few minutes ago. 

Upon Hedwig’s forehead there appeared those sharp 
lines of pain which graved themselves there whenever 
she drew her black eyebrows yet more aslant than 
nature had made them. 

Oh, you need not have spoken of that,” she said 
much lower. ^That is the one difficult thing. The 
total separation will come very near to breaking his 
heart, I know that quite well. We have been so much 
together, you see; of course his fiittle adjutant^ will 
leave a big hole in his life. And not only that but he 
had always hoped to have a soldier for a son-in-law, 
and this I think must be almost worse to him than 
somebody who had never worn a uniform ; for though 
he esteems Conrad highly and pities him deeply he 
will never be able quite to forget that he is a military 
failure.” 

^^And to you?” asked Millar, in whose mind the 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


307 


echo of so many words spoken in this same room 
seemed to be ringing confusedly. 

She looked at him with again that same reproachful 
astonishment. 

But I have told you that I am only doing what I 
cannot help doing. The only hard part is my father ; 
but even that part is quite clear, for, although he needs 
me, too, he needs me less than Conrad does, since he 
has still got that which Conrad has no longer got. 
It is Conrad who is the unhappiest of the two, and, 
therefore, it is to him that I go. My father can never 
be quite alone among his comrades, he can never he 
quite desolate with the joy of his profession. I be- 
lieve he sees it himself, for he could prevent me if he 
wanted to, and he does not. Although my departure 
takes all the joy out of his life, he has said no word 
to persuade me to abandon Conrad, and I know that 
he will say none.^^ 

Most decidedly I understand nothing about 
women,^^ thought Millar, as he listened. Was not 
this the same girl whose horizon had once seemed to 
him so narrow, who had provoked him so often by 
the petty groove of her ideas ? 

^^You are going asked Hedwig, as he stretched 
for his hat. ^^But you have told me nothing yet, and 
surely you began by saying 

Xo; I have nothing to tell you — it was a mistake. 
Only to take leave, and to wish you all happiness in 
your new life.’^ 

Hedwig stretched out her hand, smiling in frank 
unconsciousness of having been in the least cruel to 
this man who had never been more to her than a con- 


308 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


venient instrument, lying too ready to her hand not 
to be made use of — perhaps too plunged in present 
joys and pains even to remember that she had ever 
BO used him. 

Thank you ; I know I shall be happy ; and some 
day you will hear of him as happy — believe me ! And 
you will hear of her as happy> too, since there are 
plenty of uniforms still in Germany, thank goodness !” 

She laughed merrily, almost without bitterness. 

You are his friend, I think, as well as mine — ^well, 
then, depart in peace: your friend is in good hands — 
be rmre of that 

I am sure of thaV^ thought Millar on his home- 
ware: way. ^Tn fact I am not quite clear in my mind 
even now as to whether that man is more fortunate or 
unfortunate, more to be pitied, or more to be envied 


CHAPTER XXIII. 


Whatever you do donH go to sleep again, and 
neither let them go to sleep again over there.” 

It was General Russel who said it, pacing the plat- 
form of the Mannstadt railway station, by the side of 
Millar, whose place was already retained in the train 
just now getting up its steam, and whose ticket re- 
posed safely in the depth of his pocket. 

cannot regard the dragging out of the South 
African muddle as an unmitigated evil. So long as 
we have to keep our pockets open for paying the cost 
of our want of foresight, so long will Army Reform 
be talked of — but after that — ! Nothing but a con- 
tinuous shaking by the shoulder, a continuous shout- 
ing — or, if necessary, bawling — in the ear, will keep 
John Bull awake to his own danger. A thousand 
things will conspire to rock him gently to sleep ; tales 
of the heroism of his troops, examples of their mar- 
vellous endurance, the. flattering opinions, exultantly 
cited, of some foreign military critic, who in all prob- 
ability is an officer dropped out of a Continental army 
because of his inability to command a squadron, and 
now blooming forth, rather to his own surprise and 
to the vast amusement of his late comrades, as an 
unimpeachable authority. If you want to cry down 
all these voices you will have to shout pretty loud, but 
I fancy your lungs are good. Also I imagine that 


310 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


your skin is thick enough to resist the stones and the 
mud — among which the substantive ^alarmisf and 
the adjective ^hysterical’ will of course figure largely 
— that are bound to be cast at you. Do not let your- 
self be pelted into silence, and do not let yourself 
be dazzled by the present rush of volunteers, to 
which your adversaries will triumphantly point. The 
ease of recruiting is an unavoidable phase of warfare, 
but an ephemeral one; it has never failed to show 
itself so long as war lay in the air, and it has never 
failed to die out so soon as peace re-entered into her 
full rights. 

And above all, try to make clear to people at home 
that a second such blow to our prestige might easily 
prove fatal ; for not all the naive self-congratulation 
of Englishmen among themselves, not even the proud 
words spoken by exultant ministers at public ban- 
quets can alter the fact that it has suffered, and griev- 
ously too; though perhaps more in the eyes of the 
general public than in those of the initiated. A 
prestige that is supported by centuries of tradition 
takes a good deal of wearing out, but these are fast- 
wearing days, and the signs that ours is growing 
threadbare are not wanting. If you wish to be con- 
vinced of this, go into any public resort on the Con- 
tinent, enter a coffee-house or a tramcar, and if you 
keep your ears open for a few minutes, there are ten 
chances against one that presently you will hear one 
of the conversations around you turn upon South 
Africa, and always — even now that nobody seriously 
doubts the issue — with the invariable refrain: ^Eng- 
land has made a fool of herself!’ British self-corn- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


311 


placency is hard to pierce, and yet there must exist 
means of bringing home to it the fact that — whether 
rightly or wrongly — we have within the past fifteen 
months furnished Europe with an exceedingly serv- 
iceable laughing-stock — nor does it seriously affect 
the question whether it be rightly or wrongly, for no 
amount of true light turned upon the situation will 
ever quite do away with a certain sense of ridicule. 
^All envy,^ you will say; and it is envy, but no envy 
speaks so loud as that unless it thinks to see the day 
of retaliation ahead. We, who know more than the 
foreign public knows, know that we have suffered 
from misrepresentation almost as much as from Boer 
bullets ; but you will never get the great mass of the 
people to analyse each separate incident and recognise 
the justification which is generally forthcoming. To 
them the spectacle of the British Empire defied for 
a year and more by the Boer Eepublic will always 
remain an incongruously absurd one — the duel of the 
Lion with the Mouse, and a duel in which the Mouse 
has actually kept the Lion at bay. Nobody seriously 
expected the Mouse to win, but it is bad enough for 
the Lion^s reputation that one stroke of its paw was 
not sufficient to finish up so ridiculously small a foe. 
Here again we who know, know that the task was in 
reality a much bigger one than it appears at a dis- 
tance, but is it not because we are big that big things 
are expected of us? No, no, we have amused Europe 
far too well since October, ^99, it will not do to give 
them a repetition of the comedy, else in their delight 
at applauding the Mouse they might quite forget to 


312 the blood -tax. 

tremble before the Lion. Is that the second bell, or 
the third 

^The second/^ said Millar, glancing at his watch. 

have ten minutes more and I am all ears, for I am 
certain that there is more to say.^^ 

The General stood still at the extreme end of the 
platform which they had just reached, and to where 
the bustle of departure did not quite stretch. 

There would be this to say,’^ he began, sinking 
his voice by a shade, as though in fear of passing 
listeners — ^^tell them over there not to put too absolute 
a faith in their girdle of water, not to feel too abso- 
lutely safe upon their island. For one alarmist who 
dares to pronounce the word invasion’ there are fifty 
soothing voices raised to calm the popular mind. The 
idea is treated as the panic-stricken nightmare of the 
faint-hearted ; and here again the average Englishman 
fails to notice that he is reckoning with circumstances 
that have long ceased to exist. Because an invasion 
would have been impossible a hundred years ago, he 
cannot realise that this same undertaking has got en- 
closed in the circle of quite practicable manoeuvres. 
The fleet ! The fleet ! is the first word to throw at the 
head of every objector — stuck fast as he is in the com- 
fortable belief that so long as the fleet exists nothing 
can possibly happen to him. To us — us German offi- 
cers, I mean — I have got back into my German skin 
for the moment you see — this confidence seems to 
verge on the naive. We do not yet imagine that we 
can destroy the English fleet, but there are men among 
us who have long since hatched a plan — a purely aca- 
demical supposition, of course, since we have no in- 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


313 


tention of quarrelling with England — of reaching 
English shores without having to measure ourselves 
with her vessels — for although nothing but a French 
invasion is ever talked of, the task does not lie within 
the reach of France alone. To begin with, why is it 
taken for granted that the invader’s preparations 
would have to be made in the face of the world ? The 
Germans are not considered to be a particularly sly 
nation, but what good would be our four North Sea 
havens if we were not sly enough to use them for quite 
inconspicuous arrangements? No doubt some sort of 
occupation would have to be found for the Channel 
fleet, and that occupation would, I fancy, be found 
while we were making our way quietly along the 
Danish coast — for why on earth should we choose the 
difficult southern coast for landing, when the eastern 
shore suits us so much better? And when you con- 
sider that even from the most distant of those four 
havens, that is, Cuxhaven, the passage in good weather 
takes no more than thirty-six hours, you will acknowl- 
edge that I am discussing no impossibilities.” 

I don’t deny that you could get in, but how could 
you get out ?” 

The getting out would only be difficult if the in- 
vaders were too few compared to the defenders, and 
that would not be the case. It stands to reason that 
we would choose our moment, and with the unavoid- 
able Colonial complications ready to suck dry the 
forces of the Mother-Country, that moment would be 
certain to come. And as for getting out again, why 
should there be any especial hurry? England is not 
a Kussian steppe, after all, nor an African desert ; the 


314 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


march from the east coast to London, on the excellent 
English roads and past the richly stocked farms, 
would be almost an excursion; and once in London 
and in possession of the Thames haven and its mass of 
provisions, I fancy that the German soldier would be 
the last to vote for a speedy return to his own country. 
It is not likely that he will turn his back upon London 
until peace is signed.’^ 

Good gracious exclaimed Millar, suddenly agi- 
tated, ^^and this plan of yours is considered feasible ?” 

^^It is not a plan of mine; it was discussed 
quite seriously in print by an anonymous but evidently 
well-informed writer about four years ago, therefore 
long before the weaknesses of English army organisa- 
tion had been revealed to a grinning world. Not only 
is the idea considered feasible, but even not particu- 
larly difficult of execution — so long, that is to say, as 
matters remain in their present basis. But they can- 
not so remain, and they will not. If we do not 
change them ourselves our adversaries will do that 
for us. Beside our present state of military helpless- 
ness even Conscription would have my vote.” 

I have done with Conscription — in its Continental 
form, at any rate,” said Millar, decisively — ^^since it 
seems that it cannot be had without militarism, I shall 
never persuade my countrymen — even if they were to 
be persuaded — ^to bend the knee to King Uniform.” 

Ah,” drily observed the General. Then, after a 
momentary pause: ^^And how about my skeleton 
?s,.Tmy ? Are you going home a convert ?” 

I rather think I am. Your skeleton aimy is the 


THE BLOOD -TAX. 315 

one distinct idea I am taking home with me from 
Mannstadt.^^ 

Then who knows whether yon may not yet live to 
see it on its feet ! You are young enough to do so. 
But, whatever you do, donH rest! — this plan or an- 
other, so long as we are stirring. And mind you tell 
John Bull, with my compliments, not to let himself 
be so utterly seduced by the preachers of the ^neV 
warfare as entirely to despise the old vulgar ^numbers.^ 
Good Lord I is it so small a stake that we are playing 
for that a dread of a moderate change in our habits 
should cause us to lay our hands in our laps ? Must 
not he who possesses be able to guard? Do we not 
know that only that house is safe in which the strong 
man, armed, watches ? We are the strong man, but we 
are not adequately armed, except with self-satisfac- 
tion, and let us say it honestly — with presumption — 
not an empty presumption, thank God, but one which 
nevertheless has turned every man’s hand against ours, 
which makes the despised ^foreigner’ to whom we 
cannot more than amiably condescend, await with 
ill-concealed impatience the day when he can fall upon 
us in our sleep. But it must not come — that day— 
and it need not, unless we call it up ourselves. All 
that chatter about our degeneracy has been proveii to 
be empty chatter — another benefit we owe to the war. 
We are neither degenerate nor weak, we are, on the 
contrary, irresistibly strong, if only we choose to put 
out our strength; we are inexhaustibly rich, if only 
we can make up our minds to draw upon our treasures. 
Upon that class of alarmists, the men who deny these 
glorious truths, I shall be the first to cast a stone. 


316 


THE BLOOD-TAX. 


There is nothing to fear of the future if we face it — 
there is everything to fear if we turn our backs 
upon it.^^ 

You have got back into your English skin just 
now, have you not asked Millar, smiling a little as 
he gazed into the face of his friend, whose eyes, 
although he wore the uniform of the country of his 
adoption, had grown moist as he spoke of the country 
of his birth. 

The third bell he added regretfully — am 
off r 

To keep John Bull awake/^ he was saying to him- 
self two minutes later, as, leaning from the window of 
his compartment, he looked back at the platform on 
which the figure of General Kussel was rapidly dimin- 
ishing. 

Within the same minute, upon the deck of an out- 
ward-bound steamer just quitting the harbour of 
Hamburg, a man and a woman stood side by side, 
looking back upon that German Fatherland which 
they were quitting for ever. The man’s face sombre 
and drawn, fighting down the emotions which he 
would have hidden from his companion — the woman’s 
wet with tears and yet radiant with hope; his eyes 
turned towards the past, hers towards the future, 
which she meant to conquer, which she was sure of 
conquering, by virtue of that Love which fears nothing 
and dares everything. 

The German army is hard to beat, no doubt, yet for 
once King Uniform has been forced to yield up his 
crown in favour of a monarch even mightier than he. 


THE END, 








AUG 1 4 1902 



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